WBC Daily: Japan’s Reign Ends; Italy’s Espresso-Fueled Run Continues

We are down to the final four of the World Baseball Classic, and we’ll have a new titleholder. Defending champion Japan is out after losing to Venezuela in Saturday’s quarterfinals. The South American squad now joins two other star-studded casts and one espresso-powered surprise for the semifinals in Miami. Italy took down Puerto Rico earlier on Saturday and will now join the party in Miami, where the Azzurri will face Venezuela on Monday (8 p.m. ET on FS1). The other side of the bracket is the USA-Dominican Republic semifinal, which will be played on Sunday (8 p.m. ET on FOX). Recapping Saturday’s action from the World Baseball Classic and taking a peek at Sunday’s first semifinal game: Italy Continues Surprise Run, Reaches Semifinals The magical run continues for undefeated Italy, which will be taking its Armani suits, espresso machines, cheek-kisses and, most importantly, high-powered offense to the World Baseball Classic semifinals after holding off a late charge from Puerto Rico in Saturday’s quarterfinal to seal an 8-6 win. “It’s amazing,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said. “This is great. This is one of the best chapters of my life. It’s incredible. This group, it’s phenomenal.” Italy didn’t homer Saturday after hitting a dozen through its first four wins — and downing espresso shots after each dinger. But its offense still packed enough of a jolt to send the Puerto Ricans home after they had made the quarterfinals for a sixth time. “There were some special bottles of wine today,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said with a smile. Saturday’s victory came after Italy handed the United States a surprising 8-6 loss in pool play. The Azzurri followed with a 9-1 defeat of Mexico that provided the help the Americans needed to reach the quarterfinals. Next up for Italy? A date with the team that ousted the champions. Japan Ousted By Venezuela in Home-Run Fest When Ronald Acuña Jr. homered off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the first inning, there was a feeling this game would be fun. When Shohei Ohtani responded with his own solo, we knew we’d have something special brewing. What we got was a game that had four home runs and the elimination of the defending champions as Venezuela defeated Japan to move onto the semifinals. Shota Morishita had three-run homer for Japan off Ranger Suárez for a 5-2 lead in a four-run third that included Teruaki Sato’s RBI double following an intentional walk to Ohtani. But Venezuela responded with a homer by Maikel Garcia in the fifth and then a three-run shot by Wilyer Abreu to put them on top. In a twist of fate, Ohtani was the final out of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning after a pop-up. He had famously struck out his then-Angels teammate Mike Trout in the 2023 championship to win the title for Japan over the USA. Venezuela will take on Italy in Monday’s semifinal with a chance to reach the championship game on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET on FOX). Skenes, USA Set For Semis Clash vs. Dominican Republic Paul Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, will be put to the test as United States looks to return to the World Baseball Classic final. But a juggernaut will be waiting for them in Miami on Sunday (8 p.m. ET on FOX). “I expect it to be, like, one of the best games of all time,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said ahead of the star-studded semifinal matchup against the Dominican Republic. The USA has plenty of sluggers and All-Stars on its squad, headlined by Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and Mariners home-run machine Cal Raleigh. But the Dominicans are stacked too. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Juan Soto. Fernando Tatis. Junior Caminero. That’s a scary lineup no matter which way manager Albert Pujols puts it together. With 14 homers at this tournament, Team D.R. has already tied the WBC record set by Mexico in 2009. “It’s exciting,” Judge said of the Dominican style of play. “I know the fans definitely love it. But I try not to look at what other teams are doing, other people are doing. I’m focused on what we got here. We’ve got a special group of guys that love to play this game, they’re excited to be in this room, they’re all honored to be in this room, and they’re not taking it for granted.” The winner will advance to the championship game on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET on FOX).