MIAMI — Wilyer Abreu doesn’t remember what happened after the ball left his stick or what he felt as he sprinted around the bases. All he knows is how he will remember it.
“One of the best moments I’ve had in my career,” he beamed.
Trailing by a run in the top of the sixth, Abreu came to the plate with no outs and runners on the corners, knowing that one hit, or even a deep ball, would be enough to turn Saturday’s quarterfinal against Japan into a new ball game.
That was his approach: throw the ball in the air and tie the score.
Turns out Abreu would do a lot better than that. Reliever Hiromo Itoh left a 2-1 fastball at the top of the zone and Abreu spun on it, delivering one of the most significant home runs in Venezuelan baseball history.
WILYER ABREU
THREE-POINT HOME RUN
THE VENEZUELA TEAM Takes the lead 🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/9ovv3fluF6– World Baseball Classic (@WCBBaseball) March 15, 2026
His three-point shot was beyond doubt. He left the bat at 108 mph and landed on the upper deck in right field, sending the Venezuelan dugout and crowd into chaos. Abreu threw his bat so high that it disappeared from the television broadcast. He knew, upon contact, the impact he had just had on his country.
Now Team Venezuela, which has never won the WBC, has a chance to make history.
In a tournament that has had no shortage of dynamic moments, breathtaking home runs and epic comebacks, Saturday’s quarterfinal between Venezuela and Japan could have topped it all. Venezuela beats Japan 8-5eliminating the defending champions to advance to the World Baseball Classic semifinals for the first time since 2009.
The victory also secured the final spot for U.S. teams at the 2028 Olympics: the United States, Dominican Republic and Venezuela will be the three teams representing the Americas in the eight-team format.
“It’s one of the most exciting matches I’ve played,” Abreu said. “The vibes we felt on the pitch were incredible from the fans, both Japanese and Venezuelan.”
It was Venezuela’s biggest victory since the introduction of the WBC in 2006. It was also one of the most devastating defeats for Japan, who suffered their first elimination in the tournament’s history. It’s a shocking result for a team that dominated the Classic three years ago – and a far cry from how its last tournament ended.
In 2023, Shohei Ohtani’s emphatic takedown of Mike Trout to cap the tournament became the WBC’s defining moment. Ohtani once again made the final takedown for the Japanese team this year, but certainly not in the way he envisioned. His popout to shallow center served as the final out of the game.
Japan has won the WBC three times in five editions, a record, and arrived this year as the only team to reach the semifinals of each tournament. Now she will miss the semi-finals for the first time.
Venezuela advances to Monday’s semifinal against Italy. organize a showdown between the underdogs. Italy reaches the semi-finals for the first time after beating Puerto Rico 8-6 on Saturday. The winner of Monday’s game will advance to the championship against the winner of the United States and the Dominican Republic, who will face off on Sunday in a highly anticipated matchup.
