Venezuela gets Olympic bonus for taking down Team Japan at World Baseball Classic

It was a glorious day for Team Venezuela on Saturday, as the club got a huge win over Japan at the World Baseball Classic. Venezuela moves on to play in the semi-finals on Monday. The team also got an extra little bonus for defeating Japan.

“With the win, Venezuela also qualified for the 2028 Olympics. They’ll be one of the six teams in Los Angeles,” ESPN reporter Jorge Castillo posted to X, formerly Twitter.

Venezuela defeated Japan 8-5 on Saturday. It was an explosive day for the Venezuela offense, as the team scored six runs in the final five innings of the game.

“My country right now is celebrating,’’ Venezuela manager Omar Lopez said, per USA Today. “It’s extremely happy. It’s on the streets. They’re drinking right now, and that makes me happier than anybody else in this world, because this is the only thing that I can do. This is the only thing that I can do for my country.”

Venezuela moves on to play Italy in the WBC semis.

Team Japan was stunned after losing to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic

Japanese slugger Shohei Ohtani was heartbroken to see his team denied a bid in the WBC semi-finals.

“Of course it was a wonderful experience,” Ohtani said, “but if you don’t win it all, then in a sense it’s a failure. That’s probably what the result comes down to.

“Everyone was working only toward winning the championship: the manager, the staff, the people behind the scenes. Everyone was aiming for that. So, it’s very disappointing for it to end like this.”

The Venezuela team posted three home runs in Saturday’s game. One was from Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., who traded homers with Ohtani in the first inning of the game.

Venezuela will play Italy on Monday. This is the first time Venezuela has made the WBC semis, according to USA Today.

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