MIAMI — The party started before Maikel Garcia reached first base. As Garcia’s line drive sizzled into the left field corner, destined to drop for the go-ahead knock in a 4-2 victory for Venezuela over Italy in Monday’s semifinal of the World Baseball Classic, his teammates scaled the dugout to welcome home go-ahead runner Jackson Chourio. Dormant for much of the evening, loanDepot Park came to life, as Venezuela earned its first bid to the championship game since the tournament’s inception.
The ballpark will rock again Tuesday, when Venezuela faces Team USA. The environment figures to rival the volume generated during Sunday’s classic contest between the Americans and the Dominican Republic. The game will take place at a time of heightened tension between the two nations, a little more than two months after United States military forces captured and extradited Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan players have shown little interest in discussing the current political climate.
“I’m not going to answer anything about political situation, because I work in baseball,” Venezuelan manager Omar Lopez said before Monday’s game. “I think for us it’s more important to win tonight to keep our country happy, celebrating, and keep making noise that for the first time we’re going to be in a final, you know? I think that’s the goal tonight.”
On that front, consider the semifinal a rousing success for Team Venezuela. The offense came alive in the seventh inning, as the lineup worked together to spoil an intriguing pitching plan set forth by the Italians.
Searching for an upset, Italian manager Francisco Cervelli called an audible. The team had initially announced Colorado Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen as the starter. After talking with Lorenzen and Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola, Cervelli decided they should piggyback each other. “My reason,” Cervelli said before the game, “was my gut.”
Nola provided four innings of one-run baseball. Lorenzen stalled in his third inning of work. He permitted three runs, with four two-out singles from Venezuela. After each hit, the noise from the heavily partisan Venezuelan crowd only seemed to rise.
There was scant support inside the building for the Azzurri, who garnered more fanfare online than in real life. The upstart Italians emerged as one of the darlings of the WBC, in part because of their willingness to embrace cliches. The club strutted into the ballpark on Monday afternoon wearing suits and crisp white shirts, the top button undone, no ties in sight. Home runs are celebrated with shots of espresso and kisses on the cheek. Their dugout is a riot of “che vuoi?” gestures and guys who look like they drew inspiration from “The Situation.”
“There’s a lot,” Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said, “of stereotypical Italians on this team.”
Or, well, stereotypical Italian-Americans. The group was assembled by former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti (born and raised in Chicago), managed by former New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli (born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela) and captained by Pasquantino (born and raised in the suburbs of Richmond, Va.). The roster overflows with players from the hubs of the diaspora: Brooklyn and Bay Shore and Brick, N.J. Only three members of the team actually grew up in Italy.
“We want in 20 years for the World Baseball Classic Italian team to be full of Italians,” Pasquantino said. “Like Italian speakers from Italy.”
Instead, it was a collection of English speakers from the minor leagues who upended the tournament when they defeated Team USA during pool play. The Americans only advanced into the knockout stage after the Azzurri defeated Team Mexico. In a postgame interview, Pasquantino made sure to remind his countrymen: “You’re welcome, USA.”
To see the Venezuelans on this stage was far from a shock. The talent on its roster is immense. But the team still needed to defeat Shohei Ohtani and the defending champions from Samurai Japan in the quarterfinals.
With Minnesota Twins veteran Pablo López sidelined by season-ending elbow surgery,Venezuela turned to Detroit Tigers swingman Keider Montero for Monday’s start. His command wavered in the second inning. After a one-out single by designated hitter Zach Dezenzo, Montero issued a trio of walks, forcing in a run when catcher J.J. D’Orazio took a free pass. Italy added a second run on a force out by Dante Nori.
Venezuela cut the deficit in half with one swing from designated hitter Eugenio Suárez in the fourth. Suárez launched 49 home runs in 2025. His second homer of this tournament came on a curveball from Nola that dipped low and outside the strike zone. Suárez fished for the pitch and still powered it beyond the left-field fence.
After replacing Nola in the fifth, Lorenzen cruised through two innings. The seventh was different. Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres led off with a walk. Nola struck out the next two batters, but surrendered a single to Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio. The hit put runners at the corners for Ronald Acuña Jr.
Acuña excels with his combination of speed and power; he is the only man in baseball history to put together a 40-70 season. He used his speed to bedevil Italy on Monday. He chopped a hard grounder to the left side of the infield and beat the throw from shortstop Sam Antonacci. Acuña kept running long after he cleared the base. He went nearly half-way up the right-field line, high-stepping all the way.
Acuña returned to the bag in time for Garcia’s at-bat. Garcia dug out a 2-0 cutter and deposited the ball into left to put Venezuela ahead. The next batter, San Francisco Giants infielder Luis Arraez, tagged a 3-2 fastball for another RBI hit. The succession of singles felled Lorenzen, foiled Italy’s plans and delighted the Venezuelan fans.
They will have a reason to return to this ballpark in Little Havana on Tuesday. Team USA has cast itself as a group of players on a mission. To win the tournament, the Americans will have to defeat another opponent that views the World Baseball Classic as more than just an assignment.
