Shohei Ohtani hit his second home run in the 2026 World Baseball Classic and Seiya Suzuki added a double of his own as Japan defeated South Korea 8-6 at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
Japan leads 2-0 and is tied with Australia at the top of Group C. The two sides will meet on Sunday morning (6 a.m. ET; FS1).
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The Korean team defeated Japan’s starter Yusei Kikuchi with three consecutive singles at the beginning of the game and established a 3-0 lead before the opponent’s first at-bat. It didn’t take long for Japan to have a chance to respond. After Ohtani walked, Suzuki hit his first home run of the game two batters later, extending the lead to 3-2.
Two games later, the Japanese team made another long pass. Ohtani, Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida came on base, and the Japanese team led 5-3.
Suzuki now joins Tetsuo Yamada (2017) and Shinnosuke Abe (2013) as the only Japanese players to hit multiple home runs in the World Baseball Classic.
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Confrontation games are not easy, and this game was no exception. The South Korean team was tied in the first half of the 4th inning when Hyeseong Kim sent a 410-foot shot.
The game continued into the bottom half of the seventh inning when South Korean reliever Kim Young-kyu got into trouble. After Ohtani was intentionally walked, Kim drew two consecutive walks in the game, including one to help Japan break the deadlock. Yoshida then gave Japan the win for good with a two-run single.
Although South Korea got one back, they were unable to overcome Japan’s pitching that day, with Japan striking out 15 times and reaching base only twice.
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Japan’s win means the Czech Republic (0-3) will finish last in Group C and must requalify for the next World Baseball Classic.
South Korea currently has a record of 1-1 and will face Chinese Taipei next Saturday (10 p.m. ET; FS2).
