MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani walked out of the infield after the World Baseball Classic in Japan just like he had done three years before, except the final was a completely different story.
In 2023, Ohtani threw away his gloves and hat in triumph, then opened his arms as his teammates surrounded him, struck out Mike Trout, and finally defeated the United States 3-2 to win the WBC championship for Japan for the third time.
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Baseball’s best player jogged across the same rental park diamond to Japan’s bench Saturday night after his infield pop-up helped Japan lose 8-5 to Venezuela in the quarterfinals. Frustrated, he took off his batting gloves, took off his helmet, and walked down the dugout steps, past stunned teammates who leaned against the railing and stared at the celebrating Venezuelans.
“I’m really disappointed,” Ohtani said.
Japan is an international baseball powerhouse, having won 11 consecutive WBC tournaments since losing to the United States in the 2017 semifinals and reaching the semifinals in all five previous WBC tournaments. It is the only country to win the title twice in a row, in 2006 and 2009. Japan also defeated the United States in the gold medal game at the last Olympic Baseball Championship hosted by the Samurai Warriors in 2021.
After Ronald Acuña Jr.’s stunning first-inning homer off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani matched the feat by driving deep in the bottom half against Ranger Suárez.
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Shota Morishita, who came on after Suzuki Seiya was injured in the first inning, hit a three-run homer in the third inning, giving Japan a 5-2 lead. Monday’s semifinal against upstart Italy will likely determine who will play the United States or the Dominican Republic for the title the next night.
But Chihiro Sumida gave up a two-run homer to Maikel Garcia in the fifth inning, sparking enthusiasm from Venezuela and the 34,548 South American fans in the first-base dugout.
Hiromi Itoh then allowed a three-run shot to Wilyer Abreu in the sixth inning to give La Vinotinto a 7-5 lead, and in the eighth inning, Atsuki Taneichi’s wild catch pitch added another run.
Ohtani deliberately walked in front of Morishita’s home run, but he failed to advance in the final three sets, striking out in the fourth and seventh inning before going 1-2-3 in the ninth.
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Japan has a solid foundation, bringing back about half of its 2023 WBC roster.
Ohtani and Yamamoto helped the Los Angeles Dodgers become the first MLB team in a quarter-century to defend the World Series last year, with Ohtani winning his fourth MVP award and Yamamoto being named World Series MVP.
But Japan was without Roki Sasaki, a strong pitcher who remained with the Dodgers for spring training after an injury interrupted his rookie season. Ohtani is just a hitter, not a two-way star, and he’s been careful with his pitching arm as he recovers from a second major elbow surgery last year.
Ohtani leads Japanese hitters with a .462 average, three homers and seven RBIs. But the Braves finished with a .284 batting average, down from .299 three years ago, and a 3.35 ERA, up from a championship-high 2.29.
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“We didn’t choose to let Ohtani pitch in the middle of the game,” Japan coach Hirokazu Ibata said.
“Of course, I want him,” Ibatian added, “but I have no choice.”
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Associated Press MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
