WBC Special!: Venezuela Stuns Japan, Italy Advances, Semifinals Set | 153

Welcome to Episode 153 of Tablesetters, where we cover everything happening across the world of baseball.

Tonight’s WBC special covers the final two quarterfinal games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and they delivered exactly the kind of drama this tournament is built on. Venezuela knocked out defending champion Japan with an 8–5 comeback victory in Miami, flipping the game in the sixth inning when Wilyer Abreu launched a go-ahead three-run homer off Sawamura Award winner Hiromi Itoh. Earlier, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani traded historic leadoff home runs in the first inning, marking the first time two former MVPs have led off a game with homers against each other. Japan briefly grabbed control with a three-run homer from Shota Morishita, but Maikel García’s two-run shot in the fifth reopened the door before Abreu’s blast finished the turnaround. The loss ends Samurai Japan’s title defense and sends Venezuela to its first WBC semifinal since 2009.

Earlier in Houston, Italy continued the most improbable run of the tournament with an 8–6 win over Puerto Rico at Daikin Park. Puerto Rico jumped ahead immediately on a leadoff homer from Willi Castro, but Italy answered with a four-run first inning against Seth Lugo and extended the lead to 8–2 by the fourth. Puerto Rico rallied late with four runs in the eighth to tighten the game, but Italy held on to stay undefeated and reach the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic for the first time in its history.

Those results officially set the semifinal bracket in Miami. Venezuela will face Italy in one matchup, while Team USA meets the Dominican Republic in the other. Every game from here is win-or-go-home, and the quarterfinal round made something clear: the defending champions are gone, the Cinderella story is still alive, and the 2026 World Baseball Classic suddenly feels wide open.

📱 Follow @TablesettersPod on Instagram and X for live reactions, analysis, and continuing coverage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.