 In 2009 , Ramírez represented Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic , deciding to play in the tournament at the last minute . On March 10 , he gave up one run in three innings of relief as Venezuela defeated Italy 10 – 1 to advance to the second round of the Classic . He pitched a scoreless 2 ⁄ 3 of an inning on March 16 as Venezuela defeated Puerto Rico 2 – 0 . In his final game of the Classic ( on March 18 ) , Ramírez gave up two runs in 1 2 ⁄ 3 innings , but Venezuela defeated the United States 10 – 6 to advance to the semifinals . 
