Venezuela rallies to beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champ Japan 8-5, advance to WBC semis

MIAMI (AP) — Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after Maikel Garcia sparked the comeback with a two-run shot, and Venezuela beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champion Japan 8-5 in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals.

Venezuela reached its first WBC semis since 2009 and clinched a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, along with the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Venezuela will face unbeaten Italy on Monday, a day after the U.S. plays the Dominicans.

Abreu gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead when he homered off loser Hiromi Itoh in the sixth, driving a 2-1 four-seam fastball 409 feet to right for his first home run of the tournament. Ezequiel Tovar made it 8-5 in the eighth, leading off with a double then scoring on a throwing error by Atsuki Taneichi on a pickoff attempt.

Ohtani's third home run of the tournament wasn't enough for Japan, which had its 11-game WBC winning streak snapped.

Ohtani, the 2023 WBC MVP, led off the bottom of the first by lifting a 2-1 slider from Ranger Suárez 427 feet to center after Ronald Acuña Jr. homered on the second pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, driving a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second home run of the WBC.

Enmanuel De Jesus pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Daniel Palencia got the save, ending Japan's fate by getting Ohtani to pop out for the final out.

Japan led 5-2 after a four-run third in which Shota Morishita, who replaced the injured Seiya Suzuki at center field, hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Suárez. The veteran left-hander who picked up a win in a group stage game against the Netherlands pitched 2 2/3 innings on Saturday, allowing three hits, five runs and two home runs.

Garcia homered on the eighth pitch against Chihiro Sumida to pull Venezuela within 5-4 in the fifth.

World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed four hits and two runs while striking out five in four innings.

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Japan's pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers a pitch during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Venezuela's starting pitcher Ranger Suarez delivers a pitch during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Venezuela's Ronald Acuna Jr. celebrates his single home run during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Japan's Shohei Ohtani hits a single home run during the first inning against Venezuela of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Venezuela's Wilyer Abreu celebrates with his teammates after he hit a home run during the six inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Japan, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The United Arab Emirates reported a new missile attack Sunday morning, a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major UAE ports, threatening for the first time a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.

Tehran accused the United States of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence, as the war entered its third week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the vital Strait of ​Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with about 800 people killed and more than 850,000 displaced.

Here is the latest:

Sirens sounded in Bahrain ahead of an assault on Sunday, while the United Arab Emirates reported a missile attack, urging residents to shelter in safe locations.

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said its systems intercepted and destroyed 10 drones over the capital, Riyadh, and the kingdom’s eastern region.

Iran’s joint military command accused in a statement Sunday "the enemy” of using copycat Iranian drones to attack neighboring countries and pin the blame on Tehran, state media reported.

Iran usually uses “the enemy” as a reference to the United States and Israel.

The statement said copies of Iran's Shahed-136 drone, known as LUCAS, were used to hit “irrelevant targets in the regional states," including attacks on Turkey, Iraq and Kuwait. No evidence was provided.

The military command also said Iran openly shares its targets, which it describes as U.S. and Israeli interests, and urged trust and cooperation from regional countries.

The United Arab Emirates reported a missile attack Sunday morning.

Authorities urged residents to shelter in safe locations.

The U.S. Department of Defense on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed Thursday while supporting operations against Iran.

The service members were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, according to U.S. officials.

The crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safely.

Israel’s military said early Sunday that Iran launched another round of missiles toward Israel.

Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and loud booms were heard.

Israeli security forces inspect damage at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Holon, central Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A man chants slogan while the body of Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, is being buried at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Rescue workers inspect an apartment damaged in an Israeli airstrike as thick smoke fills the building in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)