MIAMI – As the ball flew down the right field line off the bat of the Dominican Republic’s Austin Wells and caromed off an advertising board on the front of the upper deck at loanDepot park for a three-run homer, giving the Dominican Republic a 10-0 win against South Korea, the Dominicans poured out of the dugout to celebrate advancing to the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
It was the team’s 15th homer of the World Baseball Classic, passing Mexico’s 2009 team for the all-time team record, and also may have sent the Dominican Republic to the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The United States has already qualified for the 2028 games as the host, so should either Venezuela or Puerto Rico lose in tonight’s quarterfinals, the D.R. will have earned a berth as one of the top two teams from the Americas in the WBC, so there’s more than just berths in the second semifinal on the line tonight.
In Houston, Italy will face Puerto Rico at 3 p.m. EDT on FS1, and in Miami, Japan will face Venezuela at 9 p.m. EDT on FOX. Should either Puerto or Venezuela win and the other team lose, the winning team would qualify alongside the D.R. for the Olympics.
For Italy, Samuela Aldegheri, the first Italian born-and-raised Major League Baseball player, will get the start on the mound against Puerto Rico’s Seth Lugo. Speaking after Italy’s workout on Friday, manager Francisco Cervelli said the coaches would meet late yesterday to figure out the game plan for Puerto Rico.
“We know we’re facing a traditional team, one of the best in the world with really good players, and with an elite catcher,” Cervelli said. “He’s a tentative player, [Martin] Maldonado, my respect towards him. And [he and manager Yadier Molina[ are great friends. I know what they’re about. So we’ve got to go after their pitching and concentrate, focus enough for the game.”
Puerto Rico advanced as the second-place team in Pool A in San Juan, falling to Canada in the final game of pool play 3-2, while Italy famously upset the United States 8-6 to claim first place in Pool D. Suffice to say, the quarterfinal start for Aldegheri, who made his MLB debut in 2024 for the Los Angeles Angels, will be the biggest of his career, which began in Italy’s professional league shortly after the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“I played there for in the top league, I played there for just two months, not even, before I signed with the Phillies and then a month during COVID,” Aldegheri said of Italy’s Serie ‘A’. “I feel like for what I’ve seen last year, I feel like the league got better and I hope it’s going to get better this year too. That’s always going to make everyone more competitive, especially the Italian guys.”
Puerto Rico’s Lugo will see some familiar faces in Italy’s Jac Caglianone and Vinnie Pasquantino, his teammates with MLB’s Kansas City Royals.
“Watching Vinnie for the last couple of years, I know he’s patient at the plate, has a good idea with the strike zone. He’ll be a situational hitter at times. And he knows how I pitch, too. It should be fun,” Lugo said on Wednesday. “But at the end of the day it’s business. I’m going to have to make them both a little uncomfortable up there and really execute pitches and get after them. It’s going to be head-to-head, which I haven’t had against Vinnie in a few years. But I faced both of them in Spring Training this year. So I feel pretty confident that if I execute my pitches, I can win the battles.”
In the late semifinal, timed to accommodate viewers in Japan, the defending champions will face Venezuela, who nearly shocked the D.R. in the semifinals, getting the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but ultimately falling 7-5.
Venezuela manager Omar Lopez knows what he’s up against with Hirokazu Ibata’s Japan team.
“They are very disciplined in the home plate, but they also have their weaknesses. Their key characteristics is how they prepare and how disciplined they are in the execution plan,” Lopez said. “Our baseball is similar, but we have more anxiety and passion to do things, you know, and this is our part of the game. And I keep saying that. If you want to win, if you want to be the champ, you have to prove that you are the best.”
Ranger Suarez will start for Venezuela against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a marquee pitching matchup. Lopez said that Suarez will likely only stay in for 65 pitches, and he’s prepared to pull his starter early should he run into trouble. Why?
“If there is a problem in the first inning, we are going to remove him because this is life or death. We have to beat Japan in order to continue to the next round. We have to be as aggressive as possible and make it to the ninth inning,” Lopez said. “I made my decision to stop the Dominican offense and I used the bullpen for that, and it almost worked. This is the way that we are going to manage the next game.”
For Japan, the key will be containing Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luis Arraez, the big Venezuelan threats atop of the lineup. Arraez leads Venezuela with nine RBIs, while Acuna has been wreaking havoc on the basepaths throughout pool play, drawing six walks, stealing two bases, and scoring eight runs.
Manager Hirokazu Ibata said there’s no limit on how long Yamamoto can go aside from the rule limiting pitchers to 80 pitches in the semifinals.
“I think he’s going to just do full throttle from the beginning. That’s what I believe,” Ibata said. “So I think I might have to decide what to do, but I hope I don’t have to put the different pitcher in the middle of the inning. I hope the pitcher will complete the innings.”
Quartfinal Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
Friday, March 13
Dominican Republic 10, South Korea 0 (Seven Innings)
United States 5, Canada 3
Saturday, March 14
3 p.m. – Puerto Rico vs. Italy – Daikin Park – TV: FS1
9 p.m. – Venezuela vs. Japan – loanDepot Park – TV: FOX
Photo: Team Italy celebrates after winning a World Baseball Classic game against Mexico, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
