The World Baseball Classic delivered once more Saturday evening. 

A quarterfinals slate that included the defending champions, undefeated Team Samurai Japan, faced off against 3-1 Venezuela. Samurai Japan sent out the 2025 World Series Most Valuable Player, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, to boost their chances of advancing to the semifinals. 

The Venezuelan starting lineup was more than prepared to face off against Yamamoto. 

Spearheaded by former National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., Venezuela managed to come away with the 8-5 upset victory. 

From the get-go, Venezuela put the pressure on early as Acuña Jr. hit a solo home run on Yamamoto's second pitch. It was also the first fastball he had thrown. 

It was a steep uphill battle for Yamamoto, given the tangible stakes attached to his outing. 

For one, Samurai Japan was working with a somewhat high pitch count for Yamamoto, and manager Hirokazu Ibata wanted the most out of his start. 

The pitch count would run high in the blink of an eye. By the end of the second inning, his pitch count was at 37 and he had given up two earned runs. 

Despite the pressure-filled beginning of his start, Yamamoto was settling into his groove after the second inning. 

By the end of his start, Yamamoto tallied four innings pitched, two earned runs, four hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. 

Yamamoto capped off his last inning of work retiring the side in order and walked off the mound with Samurai Japan leading Venezuela 5-2. 

The extra cushion was all in due part of a home run by Shota Morishita in the inning prior. 

With this loss, it marks the first time that Samurai Japan has been eliminated before the semifinals in WBC play. 

Although it was not the result Samurai Japan had hoped for, it does not diminish Yamamoto's performance on the mound. 

Before the semifinals kicked off, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media that Yamamoto's start against Venezuela would be his last for Japan.

It was said that after his start, he would return to the Dodgers to rejoin the team, whether Samurai Japan won or not. 

It was later retracted that Yamamoto would stay with Samurai Japan if they were to advance. 

Now, with Samurai Japan's hope of repeating as WBC champions has been diminished, Yamamoto and fellow countryman Shohei Ohtani return to Arizona earlier than expected. 

For what it's worth, with his early arrival, this could potentially mean Yamamoto makes one more Cactus League stint. 

Yamamoto tacked on two Cactus League stints before he departed for the WBC. 

The Dodgers could be cautious and rest Yamamoto before Opening Day, or they could start him one more time this spring for good measure.

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