MLB

Venezuela fell behind early 5-2 in the contest, but Maikel Garcia slugged a two-run homer in the fifth inning that pulled them back to within a run. Then in the sixth, Ezequiel Tovar and Gleyber Torres singled before Abreu pummeled a game-changing 409-foot (108.1 mph EV) three-run blast that sunk the defending champions. That would be his only hit in the three at-bats on the night, though it changed the entire tournament. Next up for Venezuela, is a date with Italy in the semifinals on Monday.

Venezuela entered the fifth inning staring at a three-run deficit, but Garcia was able to pull them a bit closer when he launched a 406-foot (104.1 mph EV) two-run blast off of Chihiro Sumida. He also doubled off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the contest, finishing the night 2-for-5. He’ll look to replicate this fine effort against Italy in the semifinals on Monday evening.

The 28-year-old superstar wasted no time in this one, crushing the second pitch thrown by Yoshinobu Yamamoto for a 401-foot (106.2 mph EV) solo shot to give Venezuela an early advantage. That would be his only hit in five at-bats on the night, including three strikeouts, but it set the tone for the eventual comeback victory.

The 30-year-old southpaw also issued three walks while striking out four in the ballgame. He served up a leadoff solo homer to Shohei Ohtani to open the first inning. Suárez then walked two batters to open the third — one intentionally to Ohtani — before giving up an RBI double to Teruaki Sato and a three-run blast to Shota Morishita. Overall he got five whiffs on 51 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 25 percent.

After Ronald Acuña Jr. homered to open the top half of the first inning, Ohtani matched his Venezuelan counterpart with a leadoff blast of his own — a 427-foot (113.6 mph EV) bomb off of Ranger Suárez. Ohtani also walked intentionally in the third inning and rode home on a three-run homer by Shota Morishita. Ohtani will now return back to Dodgers’ camp and finish preparing for the start of the regular season.

The right-hander punched out five on the night while issuing one base on balls. He served up a leadoff homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. to open the ballgame, then allowed an RBI double to Gleyber Torres in the second. Yamamoto generated nine swings and misses on 69 pitches, posting a CSW of 32 percent. He’ll now return to Dodgers’ camp much earlier than anticipated and continue getting ready for the start of the regular season.

The 31-year-old outfielder sustained the injury while attempting to steal second base. He was slow to get up, grabbed at his knee and had to limp off of the field. He’ll head for further evaluation. All fantasy managers and Cubs’ fans can do now is wait and hope for the best. There should be some sort of update on his status after the conclusion of Saturday’s game.

The Angels thinned out their battle at second base on Saturday morning when they optioned Christian Moore and Kyren Paris to Triple-A Salt Lake and in the evening Nick Madrigal joined them. That leaves just Adam Frazier, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom remaining to fight it out. Madrigal performed well during the spring, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with three RBI.

Olson finally got the Braves on the board in the sixth inning of this one, blasting a 398-foot (106.1 mph EV) two-run shot off of Tyler Uberstine in the sixth inning, giving the Braves the lead at 2-1. He also singled in the ballgame. The 31-year-old slugger has had himself a terrific spring, hitting .290 (9-for-31) with four homers and six RBI in 34 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old right-hander piled up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. The lone tally against him came as Braiden Ward plated a run with a fielder’s choice in the third inning. Aside from that, Elder was superb. He got nine swings and misses on 78 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 31 percent. For the spring, he now holds a 4.73 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and a 12/5 K/BB ratio over 13 1/3 innings. As is often the case, Elder is likely to occupy a spot in the Braves’ rotation to open the season due to the plethora of injuries they are once again dealing with.