Venezuela reverses course to end Italy's Cinderella run, final against USA ignites global attention

The semifinal of the 2026 Sixth World Baseball Classic took place this morning at LoanDepot Park in Miami, featuring Venezuela against Italy, the biggest surprise team of this tournament. Venezuela, trailing throughout, first narrowed the gap with a home run in the fourth inning, then completed a comeback with a series of hits in the seventh inning, ultimately defeating Italy 4-2 and ending their unbeaten legend. Venezuela made its historic first entry into the Classic final and will face the host nation, the United States, for the championship. The final will commence at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 18 at the same stadium.

Italy started Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola. In the first inning, he induced Venezuela's leadoff hitter Ronald Acuña Jr. to hit a deep fly ball that was caught, while Maikel García's surprise infield hit resulted in him leaving the base early and being tagged out at first base by a long throw from center fielder Jakob Marsee. Venezuela's starter Keider Montero also shone in the first inning, striking out Italy's leadoff hitter Sam Antonacci, and although he allowed a hit to the second batter Jon Berti, he promptly got Marsee to ground into a double play.

In the second inning, Nola consecutively struck out Eugenio Suárez and Ezequiel Tovar, and although he allowed a hit to Gleyber Torres, no runs were scored. Italy seized a great opportunity in the bottom of the second: after one out, they loaded the bases with a hit and two walks. Catcher J.J. D'Orazio carefully worked the count to force in the first run, followed by Dante Nori's ground ball adding another, giving Italy a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth, Suárez seized on a knuckle curve from Nola that didn't break far enough outside, launching a solo home run to left-center field, breaking the deadlock for Venezuela. Afterwards, both teams' offenses quieted down, and Italy entered the seventh inning holding a 2-1 lead.

The seventh inning became the turning point of the game. Venezuela leveraged a walk and a tactical hit to occupy first and third bases with two outs. Subsequently, Acuña Jr., García, and Luis Arraez consecutively hit RBI singles, scoring three runs in one go and reversing the score to 4-2.

Venezuela's relief pitcher Andrés Machado took the mound in the eighth inning, using fastballs nearing 100 mph to swiftly secure three outs, including two strikeouts. In the ninth inning, Venezuela sent Daniel Palencia to close the game. He repeatedly fired fastballs exceeding 100 mph, inducing pinch-hitter Brayan Rocchio to hit a routine fly ball for an out, then consecutively struck out Nori and Antonacci to end the game.

Venezuela faced numerous difficulties before the start of this tournament. In early January this year, then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and removed from the country by the U.S. "Operation Absolute Resolve," leading to domestic political turmoil and affecting players'出境 applications. Simultaneously, multiple players including Jose Altuve and Miguel Rojas withdrew due to factors such as insurance, and一度 there were reports the team might退出. However, Venezuela ultimately overcame重重 obstacles to顺利 participate and一路 advanced to the final, a remarkable achievement.