Acuna sparks Venezuela’s rally past Italy and into World Baseball Classic final
The ball left Ronald Acuna Jr.’s bat and rolled to the left side of the infield.
Venezuela’s speedy superstar leadoff hitter — a five-time All-Star, the 2023 National League MVP, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time NL stolen base leader during his first eight MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves — then did what he does best: He ran, as fast as possible, down the first-base line.
As he sprinted stride by stride and eventually beat out Sam Antonacci’s throw from shortstop, Acuna and his Venezuelan teammates did what they do best: They celebrated.
Acuna high-stepped into right field. The dugout emptied to greet Andres Gimenez.
It seemed like only a matter of time before Venezuela would get its big hit, that momentum-swinging spark that would tilt this World Baseball Classic semifinal against Italy in its favor.
It finally came in the seventh inning.
And, naturally, it came from Acuna.
His RBI infield single was the first of three consecutive two-out RBI singles to give Venezuela a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a 4-2 win over Italy on Monday in the friendly confines of Miami’s loanDepot park.
Venezuela is in the World Baseball Classic final for the first time in six iterations of the tournament, only ever making it to the semifinal once prior to this year — in 2009.
“I would put this as number one in my career,” Acuna said. “I love the Atlanta Braves, but before playing for the Braves, I was born in Venezuela. Back in Venezuela, Ronald Acuna Jr. — I would put this as number one in my career. I am very happy for representing my country.”
The opponent on Tuesday (8 p.m., Fox) will be a familiar one: The United States, which advanced with a 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic on Sunday. It’s a rematch of a quarterfinal game from the 2023 tournament that the United States won on a Trea Turner go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning.
“Baseball gives you this kind of opportunities,” Acuna said. “Life is so ironic. I’m very happy to play the United States again. They are all superstars, but we have a great team as well. We are going to play our game. Let’s see what happens.”
No matter how Tuesday’s game plays out, this tournament has been a success for Venezuela.
They had one of the upsets of the tournament with a thrilling 8-5 win over Japan in the quarterfinals on Saturday, a win that also secured their spot in the 2028 Summer Olympics. Venezuela manager Omar Lopez entered his postgame press conference that night with a hat bearing the number “58,” Venezuela’s international telephone country code.
“If you know someone in Venezuela,” Lopez said after that game, “call them.”
He didn’t think anyone would need to be notified about Monday’s result.
“Venezuela was awake the whole night, paralyzed watching this game,” Lopez said.
It was a thrilling game, one in which Venezuela had to rally from a 2-0 deficit after starting pitcher Keider Montero struggled with his command. Italy capitalized on that when it drew three consecutive one-out walks — by Jac Caglianone, Andrew Fischer and J.J. D’Orazio — to force in their first run before Lopez went to his bullpen. Dante Nori followed with an RBI groundout to double Italy’s lead.
That’s all it would score the rest of the night.
Venezuela’s bullpen stepped up for the second consecutive game, this time tossing 7 2/3 scoreless innings while holding Italy to three hits and two walks and striking out eight to give the offense time to put together a rally.
Ricardo Sanchez threw 1 2/3 innings. Luinder Avila tossed 2 1/3 innings. Angel Zerpa got two outs, including the biggest of the night — a strikeout of Antonacci on a perfectly placed 95.4 mph sinker with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning.
“Those pitchers, those players are valuable,” Lopez said.
The offense finally struck in that seventh inning. Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez followed Acuna’s game-tying hit with RBI singles of their own — Garcia’s going to left field, Arraez’s to left-center — to give Venezuela its first lead of the game.
The Venezuelan-heavy sold-out crowd of 35,382 got louder with each hit. The dugout celebration magnified with each runner that crossed home plate.
All three hits came Michael Lorenzen, who Italy manager Francisco Cervelli originally announced as the team’s starter for the semifinal before changing course and having Aaron Nola begin the game on the mound.
“My reason was my gut,” Cervelli said pregame. “It was me. Everyone is available, but I think Nola is the right person. That’s my opinion, and I’m taking responsibility for my decisions.”
Nola held his own against a stout Venezuela lineup, holding them to just one run — a Eugenio Suarez solo home run on a curveball outside the zone in the fourth inning — while striking out three. To that point, it was enough.
But Venezuela wasn’t going to be denied.
It struck in the seventh.
And it never looked back.
Eduard Bazardo, Andres Machado and Daniel Palencia then closed things out with a shutout inning apiece, with Machado and Palencia each recording two strikeouts.
The celebration continued.
“A lot of dancing,” Garcia said. “I’ve never been to the championship of the WBC before, and we got there and we’re happy. ... We have to show the world who Venezuela is.”
Win or lose on Tuesday, Lopez is proud of what his team has accomplished so far in representing their country.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Lopez said. “What can I do to bring some joy to my country? … It was a dream that I shared with everyone to be in this situation.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Acuna sparks Venezuela’s rally past Italy and into World Baseball Classic final."
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