Takeaways from Team Venezuela's WBC semifinal win over Italy - ESPN

And just like that, Venezuela is headed to its first World Baseball Classic final, where it will face the United States in a star-studded showdown.

Thanks to a three-run outburst in the seventh inning, Team Venezuela beat Italy 4-2 on Monday night, completing another come-from-behind victory en route to the title game. Before 2026, Venezuela had made it to the semifinals only twice in its WBC history — and had never won. The U.S., which took down the Dominican Republic 2-1 on Sunday, will return to its third consecutive WBC final in search of its first title since 2017.

We have you covered with everything from the semifinal matchup between Italy and Venezuela, including in-game highlights and postgame takeaways from Miami.

Venezuela 4, Italy 2

Venezuela's bullpen saved the day. Things looked dire when starter Keider Montero exited after 1⅓ innings, leaving his bullpen to record 23 outs for a win. And six relievers stepped up to record those outs and hold Italy, one of the tournament's highest-scoring teams, scoreless. The pitching performance allowed the Venezuelan offense's three-run seventh inning to suffice and cemented the country's first appearance in the WBC final. — Jorge Castillo

Venezuela wore gray pants Monday night, but it might as well have been the home team. A sold-out crowd of 35,382 leaned heavily in its favor during this semifinal matchup against Italy, with fans waiving Venezuelan flags, banging on drums and chanting for their nation's baseball team as it advanced further than it ever has before. Miami is the U.S. city with the highest concentration of native Venezuelans, and in this time of great political upheaval, their baseball team has contributed in ways that transcend the sport.

It has unified