Aaron Nola pitched four solid innings of action to set up Team Italy for what could have been their first World Baseball Classic championship appearance. Team Venezuela, however, coveted that slot for themselves, rallying late against Michael Lorenzen to take the semifinal game 4-2.
Nola’s previous start in the WBC came on Wednesday as he pitched five shutout innings in Italy’s 9-1 victory over Team Mexico. Going up against Venezuela in the semifinals, Italy opted to switch from former Phillies pitcher Michael Lorenzen to Nola for the start, with Lorenzen waiting in the wings should he be necessary.
A veteran of the Phillies’ organization, Nola is quite familiar with the atmosphere of Miami’s LoanDepot Park. In 12 career starts, Nola has a 3.27 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 71 innings of action. Nola has not pitched in LoanDepot Park since 2024, however, missing the Phillies’ series in Miami last season.
Nola faced some contact in the first inning against a strong Venezuelan lineup. After getting familiar foe in Ronald Acuña Jr. to line out, Maikel Garcia singled on a hard ground ball to the third baseman. Luis Arraez, however, lined out to straightaway center field as outfielder Jakob Marsee doubled up Garcia, who believed the ball would find the gap.
The second inning found Nola in a ten-pitch battle against Eugenio Suárez. On the eighth pitch, Suárez attempted to call time and began to step out of the batter’s box as the veteran pitcher threw a cutter to the outside half of the plate. Suárez tucked back in just in time to foul off the ball, only to strike out swinging two pitches later on a 79 MPH curveball. Nola then struck out Ezequiel Tovar before allowing a single into left field to Gleyber Torres. Torres would be stranded at first base, however, as he got Wilyer Abreu to fly out to center.
Italy broke the ice in the bottom of the second as J.J. D’Orazio walked in Zach Dezenzo with the bases loaded. Phillies’ prospect Dante Nori then did his part, batting in Jac Caglianone on a fielder’s choice. Italy would not add to their two-run lead with a pair of outs, but Nori added a stolen base to his ledger before the inning expired.
Nori, the Phillies’ first-round draft pick in 2024, is currently ranked the No. 7 prospect in the system. The outfielder is projected to start the year with Double-A Reading.
After a quiet third inning, Aaron Nola hung a knuckle curve on the outside part of the plate to Suárez, who took the curveball 386 feet into center field, cutting Italy’s lead in half. The home run was Nola’s first run allowed in the WBC after he surprisingly allowed a career-high 1.7 home runs per nine innings in 2025.
At 59 pitches through four innings, and the top of the lineup approaching for their third time, Italy opted to call Michael Lorenzen in to start the fifth inning. Overall, Nola kept Venezuela to one run through 4.0 innings. He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out three batters.
After two strong innings on the mound, Lorenzen fell apart in the seventh for Italy. With one runner on and two outs, the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a Phillies’ uniform allowed four consecutive singles, letting three runs cross the plate, taking away the lead from Italy.
Venezuela shut down Italy across the final nine outs, putting down the Italian order in order. In his final at bat, Dante Nori struck out on five pitches, chasing a 99.2 MPH fastball from Daniel Palencia. Overall, Nori went 1-for-4 with an RBI on the game.
With the final out to Sam Antonacci, Team Venezuela punched their ticket to the nations’ first WBC championship game where they will face the United States. Jesús Luzardo stands as the Phillies’ only representative on the Venezuelan squad while the United States has a trio of Phillies in Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Brad Keller.
The final contest of the 2026 World Baseball Classic will be on Tuesday, March 17 at loanDepot park in Miami, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 8:00 P.M. and will air on FOX.
