Venezuela rallies past Italy to reach first Classic final – MLB.com

Venezuela Classic final: Team beats Italy 4-3 to reach first World Baseball Classic final

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Venezuela defeated Italy 4-3 in Miami on Sunday to reach its first World Baseball Classic championship game.

Manager Omar López’s team scored 3 runs in the eighth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit.

The victory sets up a final against either Japan or Mexico after Venezuela fell in the 2009 semifinals.

Venezuela loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning. Salvador Pérez singled to drive in 2 runs and tie the game, then Eduardo Escobar’s sacrifice fly scored the winning run against Italy closer Matt Harvey.

López told reporters the comeback reflected his team’s resilience throughout the tournament.

Italy manager Mike Piazza said the loss ended an impressive run for his team.

Venezuela had trailed since the fourth inning when Italy scored 2 runs off starter Pablo López.

The Miami Marlins right-hander allowed 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings before being replaced by José Alvarado.

Alvarado threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0 in the tournament.

Venezuela closer José Quijada entered in the ninth inning and recorded his second save.

The left-hander struck out John Valente swinging to end the game.

Venezuela had 11 hits compared to 7 for Italy.

Gleyber Torres went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

David Fletcher had 2 hits for Italy in the loss.

The game at loanDepot park drew 35,894 fans.

Venezuela improved to 7-1 in the tournament while Italy finished 5-3.

The championship game will be played Tuesday at the same venue.

Background

Venezuela entered the 2023 tournament seeking its first final appearance after previous semifinal exits in 2009 and 2017. The South American nation brought a roster featuring 17 major league players including Ronald Acuña Jr., Luis Arráez and Andres Gimenez.

Italy qualified for the semifinals as Pool A runners-up with wins over Cuba, Chinese Taipei and Netherlands. Piazza’s squad featured 10 players with major league experience including Fletcher, Brett Sullivan and Vinnie Pasquantino.

The World Baseball Classic expanded to 20 teams for 2023 with the championship held in Miami for the first time. The tournament featured 47 games across four countries with the total attendance exceeding 1 million fans.

What’s Next

Venezuela will face the winner of Monday’s Japan-Mexico semifinal in Tuesday’s championship game at 7 p.m. ET. The Japanese roster includes 2021 American League MVP Shohei Ohtani while Mexico eliminated Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals.