The Venezuela-Japan WBC quarterfinal faceoff just made history from both ends. As Venezuela got over Japan by 8-5, this is the first time they have gone into a semifinal since 2009. On the other hand, this is the first time in the WBC history that Japan failed to secure its semifinal berth. So, while both sound wild, let’s dive into the details to know more about how Venezuela dominated Japan’s star-studded lineups that included names like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Japan came into the quarterfinals looking dominant. The defending champions had cruised through the group stage with a perfect 4–0 record, outscoring their opponents 34–9, so they were widely expected to beat Venezuela. But the game quickly showed it wouldn’t be that simple.

Venezuela’s Ronald Acuna Jr. set the tone right away. In the very first inning, he launched a 401-foot home run to right-center off Japan’s ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, giving Venezuela an early 1–0 lead. But Japan didn’t take long to respond. In the bottom of the first inning, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani blasted a massive 427-foot homer to center field off Ranger Suárez, leveling the score at 1–1.

The rest of the inning stayed quiet, and the game remained tied after the first.

Japan then showed why they were the defending champions. In the third inning, their offense came alive, scoring three more runs and stretching the lead to 5–2. At that point, it looked like Japan was firmly on track for another semifinal appearance.

But Venezuela had other plans. They began chipping away at the lead, and the momentum slowly shifted. In the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings, Venezuela’s bats delivered key home runs. The biggest moment came in the sixth when Wilyer Abreu crushed a three-run homer that flipped the game in Venezuela’s favor after they had been trailing 5–2. Runs from players like Chourio, Tovar, and Torres helped Venezuela surge ahead to an 8–5 lead.

Shohei Ohtani’s squad couldn’t mount another comeback, and with the ninth inning going scoreless for both sides, Venezuela sealed an impressive 8–5 victory. The Venezuelan pitching staff, including Machado, Zerpa, and Palencia, did a solid job of shutting down Japan’s offense after the early innings.

With the win, Venezuela moves on to face Italy in the semifinals on Monday. What’s more is that Venezuela has now secured its place in the LA28 Olympics for the first time.

Despite Japan’s loss, Shohei Ohtani was at his best

Despite Japan failing to secure a semifinal spot, Shohei Ohtani once again showed why he’s arguably the best player in baseball right now. Remember, in the WBC 2023, Ohtani delivered one of the tournament’s most iconic moments by striking out Mike Trout in the final to seal the title for Japan. This time around, even though he was limited on the pitching side, Ohtani still did what he does best with the bat.

He smashed 3 HRs in the tournament until the quarterfinals. One of those was a leadoff blast off Ranger Suarez that tied the quarterfinal against Venezuela and immediately gave Japan early momentum.

And what makes it even more impressive is that his numbers were actually better than his last WBC appearance. In 2023, he hit one home run with a .435 average, while this time he launched three homers and batted around .462.

So Ohtani clearly remains at the top of his game. And for fans of the Dodgers, that’s an encouraging sign, because their two-way superstar will soon be back with the team, and performances like this suggest he’s still operating at an elite level.