MIAMI — Ronald Acuña Jr. didn’t wait for a big swing. He ripped an infield single, outran the throw from Italy shortstop Sam Antonacci and kept sprinting toward home, roaring as the LoanDepot Park crowd — largely Venezuelan fans hoping to see their country reach the World Baseball Classic final for the first time — went wild.
Acuña’s hustle tied the game in the seventh inning and ignited a celebration as teammates poured out of the dugout. Venezuela then completed the rally: Maikel Garcia followed with a go-ahead RBI single and Luis Arraez added an insurance run with a two-out hit, lifting Venezuela to a 4-2 victory over Italy Monday night.
The win sends Venezuela to its first WBC championship game, a rematch with the star-studded United States team. Venezuela reached this point days after qualifying for the Olympics for the first time with a dramatic comeback over Japan in the quarterfinals.
“We never lost confidence in the type of roster we had,” Acuña said in Spanish. “We always stayed on the same page, and I think that’s what carried us into the final.”
Early tension came as Venezuela’s offense stalled and starter Keider Montero struggled with control. In the second inning Montero allowed a one-out single to Zach Dezenzo and then issued three straight walks. A bases-loaded walk to J.J. D’Orazio produced the game’s first run, and Dante Nori’s fielder’s choice made it 2-0. Manager Omar López pulled Montero after 33 pitches and 1 1/3 innings, turning the game over to his bullpen.
López used six relievers, and they shut down one of the tournament’s more potent offenses. The relief corps limited Italy to three hits and two walks over the final 7 2/3 innings while recording eight strikeouts.
“We knew we had to be ready early,” reliever Andres Machado said in Spanish after a scoreless eighth in which he struck out two. “Winning, losing, we could have entered. In the bullpen, that’s what we understand. We’re always ready. We don’t have any specific roles. We just go out there to help the team in whatever way we can.”
Italy started Aaron Nola, a move manager Francisco Cervelli defended as his decision. Nola stymied Venezuela until the fourth, when Eugenio Suárez connected on a solo homer off an 80 mph knuckle curve — the only run Nola allowed that night and the only run he surrendered across eight innings in his two WBC outings.
Cervelli then called on Michael Lorenzen in a piggyback role, a willingness to burn an arm that might otherwise start in the final in order to try to reach the championship. Lorenzen walked William Contreras but escaped the fifth after López had Jackson Chourio lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Contreras into scoring position.
The seventh proved decisive. Gleyber Torres drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Andrés Giménez. Lorenzen struck out Wilyer Abreu and Contreras and seemed close to getting out of the inning again, but Chourio lined a single to center that moved Giménez to third and sparked the rally. Acuña swung at Lorenzen’s first pitch and ripped a 97.7 mph grounder just deep enough into the hole to beat Antonacci’s throw; Garcia followed with a line drive to center for the go-ahead RBI, and Arraez’s two-out knock added breathing room.
Venezuela will face the U.S. in Miami — a city with a large Venezuelan population — with veteran left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez slated to start for Venezuela against Nolan McLean, one of baseball’s top pitching prospects. The U.S., which won a coin flip to determine home-team status, will defend the title it won in 2017 and 2023.
Despite their star power, Venezuela will enter as underdogs in the final. Several high-profile major leaguers who might have bolstered the roster were unavailable for various reasons: José Altuve was denied insurance, Pablo López is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Jesus Luzardo declined after pool play, and Jose Alvarado and Miguel Rojas were also unavailable. Altuve and López attended Monday’s game and watched as their country took the next step in international play.
“A lot of dancing,” Garcia said with a smile. “We’ve never been in the championship of the WBC before. We got there, and we’re happy, we’re excited to play tomorrow against the United States. We have to come tomorrow and play the same way we played against Japan and Italy. We have to show the world who Venezuela is.”
For Acuña, the moment carried deep personal meaning. “This is No. 1 for me in my career,” he said. “I love Atlanta a lot, but before I played in Atlanta, I was born in Venezuela. Venezuela made Ronald Acuña Jr.”
Venezuela’s bullpen depth, small-ball situational plays and Acuña’s game-changing speed combined to cap a memorable night and set up what promises to be a high-profile title game against the U.S.
