March 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japanese designated hitter Shohei Otani (16) and manager Hideki Kuriyama (89) are entering the baseball stadium to introduce the team against the United States at Rondipo Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Image Shohei Ohtani hit a grand slam and added an RBI for a 10-run second inning, giving defending champion Japan a 13-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in Friday’s World Baseball Classic billiards match in Tokyo.
10 points is the highest score in one inning in WBC history.
Ohtani, who hit a double on the first pitch of the game, was triple-shy to pace Japan’s 13-hit attack in the opener of round-robin play. Japan (1-0) competes in Group C against Australia (2-0), South Korea (1-0), Czech Republic (0-2) and Chinese Taipei (0-2).
Taiwan recorded only one hit, a hit by Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Yu Chang in the 6th inning, and recorded no runs in both games of this tournament.
According to the competition’s mercy rule, the game ended after 7 innings.
The top two teams from each of the four pools advance to the quarterfinals, where Miami and Houston will face off. The semifinals on March 15th and 16th and the finals on March 17th will be held in Miami.
Playing in front of a home crowd, Ohtani opened the scoring with his first grand slam in a WBC game, throwing a 2-1 pitch from Haochun Cheng over the right-center field wall. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar and reigning WBC Tournament MVP watched as Masataka Yoshida of the Boston Red Sox hit a triple, Munetaka Murakami, who acquired the Chicago White Sox, scored a run on an infield single, Sosuke Genda had his first two-run hit of the day and Kenya Wakatsuki added an RBI single in his second.
Ohtani ended the seventh inning with Genda’s line drive hit to right field.
Kazuma Okamoto hit an RBI single, and Genda added a 2-run hit in the middle of the third inning.
There was plenty of offense for the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed three walks and two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. Shoma Fujihira handled a jam with the bases loaded in the third inning.
Stuart Fairchild, whose mother Mimi is Taiwanese, almost put Taiwan on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fairchild’s drive to left field for the Cleveland Guardians sailed just outside the foul pole.
–Field level media
