Venezuela beats Italy 4-2, reaches first WBC final
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- Ronald Acuña Jr. raced out an infield RBI single in the seventh inning to tie Italy at 2-2, igniting a four-straight two-out hit barrage that included go-ahead and insurance RBI singles by Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez en route to a 4-2 semifinal win
- Venezuela's bullpen — six relievers deployed after starter Keider Montero lasted just 1⅓ innings — silenced Italy's offense, holding the previously undefeated squad to three hits and two walks over the final 7⅔ innings with eight strikeouts
- Italy manager Francisco Cervelli made the gut call to start Aaron Nola over Michael Lorenzen, sacrificing his best option for a potential championship start; Nola yielded one run on a Eugenio Suárez solo homer across his outing — his only run allowed in eight WBC innings
- Italy had been the tournament's only undefeated team at 5-0 and jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning after Montero issued three straight walks, but was held off the board after that as Lorenzen, working in relief, couldn't escape a two-out jam in the seventh
- Venezuela will face the United States in Tuesday's WBC final — a rematch of a 2023 quarterfinal the Americans won — with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez slated to start opposite pitching prospect Nolan McLean; the U.S. won a tiebreaking coin flip for home team designation
- Venezuela's roster is missing several high-profile major leaguers — Jose Altuve (insurance denial), Pablo López (Tommy John surgery), Jesus Luzardo, Jose Alvarado and Miguel Rojas — yet now sits one win from a championship that has historically eluded one of baseball's proudest nations
Why it matters: A nation without Altuve, Luzardo or Pablo López is one win from a world title, and Tuesday's final will be decided by a Venezuelan bullpen that just tamed the tournament's last undefeated offense against a star-laden U.S. lineup that won the home-team coin flip in Miami.
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