Venezuela shuts out Italy 7-0 in WBC

Published 8:34 pm Saturday, March 7, 2009

TORONTO — Carlos Guillen and Melvin Mora hit solo home runs, Bobby Abreu singled in two runs in a four-run fifth inning and Venezuela defeated Italy 7-0 at the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night.

Mora went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Jose Lopez went 3-for-3 with a walk and scored twice for Venezuela.

Right-hander Felix Hernandez allowed a single in four scoreless innings to earn the victory. He walked two and struck out four.

Venezuela can advance to the second round with a victory over the United States on Sunday night. Italy will seek to avoid elimination from Group C when it meets host Canada on Monday night.

Mark DeFelice pitched four scoreless innings for Italy.