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And just like that, Venezuela is headed to its first World Baseball Classic final, where it will face the United States in a star-studded showdown.
Thanks to a three-run outburst in the seventh inning, Team Venezuela beat Italy 4-2 on Monday night, completing another come-from-behind victory en route to the title game. Before 2026, Venezuela had made it to the semifinals only twice in its WBC history — and had never won. The U.S., which took down the Dominican Republic 2-1 on Sunday, will return to its third consecutive WBC final in search of its first title since 2017.
We have you covered with everything from the semifinal matchup between Italy and Venezuela, including in-game highlights and postgame takeaways from Miami.
Takeaways
Venezuela 4, Italy 2
Venezuela’s bullpen saved the day. Things looked dire when starter Keider Montero exited after 1⅓ innings, leaving his bullpen to record 23 outs for a win. And six relievers stepped up to record those outs and hold Italy, one of the tournament’s highest-scoring teams, scoreless. The pitching performance allowed the Venezuelan offense’s three-run seventh inning to suffice and cemented the country’s first appearance in the WBC final. — Jorge Castillo
Venezuela wore gray pants Monday night, but it might as well have been the home team. A sold-out crowd of 35,382 leaned heavily in its favor during this semifinal matchup against Italy, with fans waiving Venezuelan flags, banging on drums and chanting for their nation’s baseball team as it advanced further than it ever has before. Miami is the U.S. city with the highest concentration of native Venezuelans, and in this time of great political upheaval, their baseball team has contributed in ways that transcend the sport.
It has unified a nation. It has connected estranged Venezuelans with the families they cannot visit. And, more than anything, it has become a source of pure joy. That was never more evident than in the top of the seventh, when Venezuela’s offense strung together four straight singles, turning a one-run deficit into a two-run lead and making LoanDepot Park feel as if it might erupt. — Alden Gonzalez
Pour out an espresso shot and a bottle of wine for Team Italy, the darlings of the 2026 World Baseball Classic who leaned in to their heritage and wound up playing some of the best baseball in the tournament. Comprising mostly Italian Americans, the team celebrated home runs with espresso shots and kisses on the cheek, handed out bottles of wine to players of the game and ousted country after baseball-playing country before Venezuela ousted it Monday night. Italy’s offense, so dynamic, ran into a buzzsaw of power arms from Venezuela, ending the magic ride. Italy will be back — and hopefully with it, the sort of funding to help the country organically grow a generation of new ballplayers for World Baseball Classics 20 years down the road. — Jeff Passan
