Abreu’s 3-run homer sends Venezuela to its first WBC semifinal in 17 years

MIAMI (AP) — Wilyer Abreu watched the ball leave the park and tossed his bat high in the air. His Venezuela teammates streamed out of the dugout in celebration. The comeback was on, and the win over the reigning World Baseball Classic champion Japan was within reach.

Japan, its 11-game WBC winning streak on the line, held a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday's thrilling quarterfinal matchup in Miami when Abreu put his team ahead with the biggest swing of the game: a three-run shot off Hiromi Itoh that sent the loanDepot Park crowd into a passionate roar and helped clinch Venezuela's 8-5 win and first WBC semifinal appearance in 17 years.

“That was an exciting moment," Abreu said in a postgame television interview. "I tried to at least tie the game with a sac fly. He gave me a really good pitch to hit. I made good contact. I'm very excited for this win. Now in the semifinals I hope I can do the same thing I did today.”

Venezuela fell behind 5-2 when Maikel Garcia sparked a comeback with a two-run homer in the fifth. Abreu followed with his first homer of the tournament, a 409-foot drive to right that put his team ahead for good.

Abreu, a two-time Gold Glove-winning right fielder for the Boston Red Sox, is hitting .294 with six RBIs in five WBC games. He described Saturday's moment as one of the best in his career — but he's no stranger to epic performances.

Abreu hit a grand slam and inside-the-park home run in the same game against the Cincinnati Reds last year, becoming the sixth player in major league history and the second Red Sox player since 1939 to accomplish that. The inside-the-park home run was the first by a Boston player in Fenway Park since Jacoby Ellsbury on Sept. 19, 2011.

On Saturday, in a game with much higher stakes, Abreu said the team fed off the energy of the Venezuelan fans. They stood on their feet most of the game, cheering and banging drums after each play.

“I think that the crowd today and every game that we have played in this WBC, the fans have been great, incredible," Abreu said. "You can feel the vibes. You can feel the support from the stands and from all the Venezuelans at home watching the game on TV.”

Abreu and his teammates know they're not done. Venezuela will face Italy in the semifinals but also clinched a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, along with the United States and the Dominican Republic.

“I believe that this means a lot to us Venezuelans for the country,” Abreu said. “Venezuela has participated in the Olympics in other categories and other sports, but we are trying to write our own history. Our team is well-prepared. ... The job is not completed. We have more to do.”

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Venezuela's Wilyer Abreu hits home run during the six inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Japan, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Venezuela's Wilyer Abreu, center, 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/Marta Lavandier)

Venezuela's Wilyer Abreu runs the bases 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/Marta Lavandier)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

Meanwhile, on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.

In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev's Telegram channel, smoke rises after a drone attack on the oil refinery and terminal in Tuapse, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev Telegram channel via AP, File)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)