Venezuela rallies to beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champ Japan 8-5, advance to WBC semis

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MIAMI (AP) — Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after Maikel Garcia sparked the comeback with a two-run shot, and Venezuela beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champion Japan 8-5 in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals.

Venezuela reached its first WBC semis since 2009 and clinched a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, along with the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Venezuela will face unbeaten Italy on Monday, a day after the U.S. plays the Dominicans.

Abreu gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead when he homered off loser Hiromi Itoh in the sixth, driving a 2-1 four-seam fastball 409 feet to right for his first home run of the tournament. Ezequiel Tovar made it 8-5 in the eighth, leading off with a double then scoring on a throwing error by Atsuki Taneichi on a pickoff attempt.

Ohtani's third home run of the tournament wasn't enough for Japan, which had its 11-game WBC winning streak snapped.

Ohtani, the 2023 WBC MVP, led off the bottom of the first by lifting a 2-1 slider from Ranger Suárez 427 feet to center after Ronald Acuña Jr. homered on the second pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, driving a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second home run of the WBC.

Enmanuel De Jesus pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Daniel Palencia got the save, ending Japan's fate by getting Ohtani to pop out for the final out.

Japan led 5-2 after a four-run third in which Shota Morishita, who replaced the injured Seiya Suzuki at center field, hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Suárez. The veteran left-hander who picked up a win in a group stage game against the Netherlands pitched 2 2/3 innings on Saturday, allowing three hits, five runs and two home runs.

Garcia homered on the eighth pitch against Chihiro Sumida to pull Venezuela within 5-4 in the fifth.

World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed four hits and two runs while striking out five in four innings.

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