Shohei Ohtani will be heading back to the Dodgers camp as Team Venezuela capped off Samurai Japan’s run in the WBC 2026. Venezuela’s 8-5 victory took them to the semifinals of the WBC for the first time since 2009. On the other hand, Japan’s performance drew sharp criticism from a former WBC champion.

Jonathan Lucroy, a former catcher for Team USA, took to X and highlighted major flaws that plagued the Japanese team.

Dubbing Japan’s performance “unlike them,” Lucroy wrote, “Not trying to hammer Japan here, but they don’t look very clean. Throwing errors, misread ground balls. Catcher is clanking pitches. Unlike them. It has to be jet lag or something, but they aren’t sharp like they usually are.”

Ohtani and the team entered the quarterfinals undefeated after pool play. Ohtani’s Los Angeles Angels teammate Lucroy blasted the Japanese catcher and pitcher Atsuki Taneichi for sloppy throws. In the eighth inning, when Venezuela was already leading 7-5, Taneichi gave up a double to Ezequiel Tovar. His sloppy throw to second base ultimately ended up scoring Venezuela’s winning run.

Japan entered the tournament as the favorites, aiming to defend the crown, but ended up not qualifying for the semifinals for the first time in WBC history. Venezuela ended Japan’s 11-game WBC winning streak, dominating them for the first time. Furthermore, this defeat stopped Japan from securing an immediate spot in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Lucroy also noted that Team Japan was not looking as “sharp” as they usually are. The Japanese bullpen became ineffective, facing Venezuela’s fiery offense, and gave up six runs in five innings. Angels’ pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was the only bright spot as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Kikuchi struck out Ronald Acuna Jr., got Maikel Garcia, and Luis Arraez to ground out.

In the ninth inning, Ohtani faced an impossible task. He came to bat with no one on base and Japan trailing by three. ‘Sho Time’ popped out to the Venezuelan shortstop, marking the final out of the game.

During Japan’s 2023 WBC win, it was Ohtani’s pitch that took out Mike Trout of Team USA to end the game. But this year, due to his commitment to the Dodgers, Ohtani did not pitch for Samurai Japan in the WBC.

The 2017 WBC gold-medalist for Team USA, Lucroy, pondered whether Team Samurai Japan could not get over their jet lag in time for the match. Ohtani and the team played all their pool play matches in the Tokyo Dome Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

Team Japan played against Venezuela at loanDepot park in Miami. They had to get used to a 13-hour time difference, with Japan ahead. They arrived in Miami on March 12, reportedly having their first practice shortly after.

It remains uncertain whether jet lag played a role in Venezuela’s victory, but the results remain the same: the defending champions were ousted by the underdog.

The elimination came as such a shock to Team Samurai Japan that their manager, Hirokazu Ibata, took a drastic step.

Defeat to Venezuela forced the Japanese manager’s resignation

Hirokazu Ibata took up managerial duties of Team Japan in October 2023, intending to make them “invincible.” But Team Venezuela in the WBC 2026 cut his dreams short.

Ibata had put together a team that boasted 8 Major League players, including the Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox), Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays), Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), Tomoyuki Sugano (Rockies), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), and Yusei Kikuchi (Angels).

When Team Japan crushed their opponents in the pool play round, outscoring them 34-9, it appeared they were on the right path to the title defense. But it changed once they landed in Miami from Tokyo to face Venezuela.

In the post-match press conference, manager Ibata sent a positive note for Team Japan’s future endeavors following the shocking elimination.

“So I know we lost this time, but Team Japan — I would hope Japan would get better next time. I will hope Team Japan will win next time,” he reportedly remarked.

However, Ibata’s latest decision revealed he will not be taking part in Team Japan’s potential victories in the future. While speaking to the press in the team hotel, Ibata reportedly noted, “Results are everything.”

Ibata announced his desire to step down as the manager of Team Japan the day after they lost to Venezuela.