Ronald Acuna Jr. celebrates WBC win over Japan with ‘we ate sushi’ taunt
Venezuela’s Ronald Acuña Jr. taunted Japan after an 8-5 win in Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup on the World Baseball Classic.
“We ate sushi! We ate sushi!” the Braves outfielder is seen yelling by way of the locker room at Miami’s loanDepot park in a web based video, referring to the normal Japanese dish.
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“Maybe the most important game [of my career],” Acuña said afterward. “When we went to the World Series [with the Braves]I wasn’t there. Thank God I’m living this great moment in my career.”
Venezuela’s Ronald Acuna Jr. celebrates his single home run during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Japan on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. AP
The Braves won the 2021 World Series, defeating the Houston Astros in six games, while Acuña was sidelined with a leg injury.
“I had a lot of emotion because I want to make my people proud,” Acuña added.
The Venezuela national team overpowered Japan, the 2023 WBC champion, in a come-from-behind win to reach the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2009.
In the primary inning, Acuña hit a leadoff homer, blasting a 96 mph fastball by Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the outfield wall.
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The former MLB MVP celebrated by doing his signature trot and a Eurostep at third base earlier than pounding his chest at house plate.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, who responded with a leadoff house run, mentioned the Venezuelans “overpowered us.”
The four-time MLB MVP treated his Dodgers teammates to a high-quality sushi dinner final March — and launched his teammate Freddie Freeman to the favored Japanese delicacy for the primary time.
Venezuela’s Ronald Acuna Jr. celebrates his single house run through the first inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal sport towards Japan on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. AP
Before that, Ohtani loved a sushi dinner with Yamamoto at Nobu a couple of days earlier than Yamamoto and the Dodgers agreed to a 12-year, $325 million contract in Dec. 2023.
Venezuela performs Italy Monday night time in Miami.
