And with that, Samurai Japan opened their defense of the WBC with a 13-0 drubbing over Chinese Taipei. The game was halted after 7 innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. Shohei Ohtani led the team going 3-for-4 with five RBIs including a grand slam into the right field bleachers that opened the scoring in a 2nd inning that ultimately saw 10 runs cross home plate. Sosuke Genda, generally rated as the weakest hitter in the starting lineup, went 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Masataka Yoshida was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Japan's pitching limited the Taiwanese to just one hit, a leadoff single in the 6th inning by Yu-Cheng Chang. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was slated to throw 3 innings maximum, fell one out short of reaching that target when he was removed after walking three batters in the 3rd. Under WBC rules, his pitch count of 53 requires him to rest four days before he can pitch again. Before the tournament, reports claimed he is tentatively scheduled to start in the quarterfinals (assuming they advance out of the Pool) which would be against a team from Pool D, possibly Venezuela or the Dominican Republic. Shoma Fujihira, Hiroya Miyagi, Koki Kitayama and Ryuhei Sotani also saw action on the mound with all five pitchers combining to record 8 strikeouts over the 7 frames. Japan will next face their big rivals Korea who had a rest day on Friday following their 11-4 win over Czechia on Thursday. Yusei Kikuchi is believed to get the start. The loss seriously damages Chinese Taipei's hopes of advancing after they had shocking been shut out 3-0 by Australia in their opening game. Netflix Japan highlights MLB extended highlights
It's a Hiroshima Carp thing. Just as the Tokyo crowd sang Kaito Kozono's cheer song last November, so too have the fans resurrected Seiya Suzuki's ouenka from his NPB days for the WBC. The 'squat cheer' is basically generic at Carp games, sung with the name of the player who is at bat. You'll likely hear/see this cheer every time Suzuki or Kozono are at the plate since it gets the fans involved. Suzuki gave his appreciation by sharing a reel on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/stories/seiya510127/3846943768604481226/
In an exciting, slugfest between two rival nations, Samurai Japan won a tense contest over Korea 8-6 to share top of the Pool C standings with Australia, their next opponent set for Sunday. Seiya Suzuki led Japan with two home runs and four RBIs while Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-4 with a bomb of his own and three RBIs. The two outfielders went back-to-back into the bleachers to complete a three run 3rd inning that also saw Shohei Ohtani go yard for the second time in the tournament. Yoshida's two-RBI single in the 7th inning proved to be the difference in a game where Korea took a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning and never gave up to the end. Starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi struggled in the 1st inning allowing three runs off four hits but settled afterwards to record four strikeouts with no walks over 3 complete innings. Hiromi Itoh followed with six strikeouts over 3 frames although he did surrender a two-run blast to Hyeseong Kim that tied the score at 5-5 in the 4th. In total, Japan's five pitchers racked up 15 strikeouts on the night with Atsuki Taneichi adding his part by fanning the side in the 7th inning. Australia will be the next opponent with the winner taking sole position of first place in the Pool. The game will be attended by the Imperial Family led by Emperor Naruhito who will be the first serving Emperor to attend a professional baseball game since Emperor Hirohito in 1966. Netflix Japan highlights MLB extended highlights
A crucial victory for Chinese Taipei over Korea in extra innings keeps alive Taiwan's hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals. The result also assures that Samurai Japan has officially advanced to the quarterfinals. If they defeat Australia coming up they will finish top of Pool C and receive an extra day's rest with their quarterfinal game set for Saturday 14 March. This is a great benefit since they will have to make 14-15 hour flight to Miami. With Chinese Taipei having completed their Pool schedule, they must now hope that Korea defeats Japan to force the efficient TQB formula on which team will advance to the quarterfinals.
Samurai Japan were given a tough fight but eventually came out on top 4-3 against a very game Australia to cement first place in Pool C. The game was scoreless after 5 innings with Japan having achieved only two hits, but they had also drawn six walks and ended up stranding eight runners with Australia getting outs in key situations to stop potential rallies. Their defensive work paid off in the 6th when speedster Aaron Whitefield's attempt at stealing third base induced a wild throw into left field from Japan catcher Kenya Wakatsuki that allowed Whitfield to race home giving the Aussies a shock 1-0 lead. A two-run home run from Masataka Yoshida in the 7th relieved home fans nerves putting Japan up 2-1. Two important insurance runs were added in the 8th, first when Teruaki Sato doubled home Ukyo Shuto then when Seiya Suzuki drew a bases loaded walk to force home run number four. Australia did not go quietly as Alex Hall and Rixon Wingrove each hit solo home runs off closer Taisei Ota in the 9th to reduce the deficit to a nail-biting 4-3 before Robbie Perkins grounded out to third to end a very interesting night. Japan managed just five hits throughout the game but drew 12 walks. For the first time since Emperor Hirohito in 1966, a baseball game was attended by the Imperial Family as Emperor Naruhito enjoyed the game along with Empress Masako and Princess Aiko. Two-time WBC MVP Daisuke Matsuzaka threw out the first pitch. Netflix Japan highlights MLB extended highlights
You might be right lol Team Dominican Republic’s offense so far:21-59 (.356 AVG)6 HR17 BB22 Runs.500 OBP1.212 OPSAn absolute FORCE 🇩🇴 pic.twitter.com/4pP3Dgw3Kr— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) March 8, 2026
Japan is off Monday and will play their final game in Pool play against Czechia on Tuesday. With first place in the Pool having been clinched, it is likely Tuesday's game will see many starters rested which means shortstop Kaito Kozono will probably see his first action of the tournament. Everything will be on the line when Korea and Australia meet on Monday. If Korea wins, this will force a tiebreak situation. The tiebreaker being used is called Team Quality Balance (TQB), a more nuanced version of Run Differential. This takes into account the number of times the teams have been up to bat. This is required since the Korea-Taiwan game went 10 innings, and also since Australia (as the home team) only had 8 innings on offense compared to 9 by Chinese Taipei in Australia's 3-0 win. A look at this grid shows that the fewer runs that are scored in Monday's game, the more likely Australia will advance. Korea must win by a margin of 5 runs or more to advance. But if they score 8 or more runs while allowing at least 3 runs, Chinese Taipei would advance.
There's been much discussion (and confusion) online about what would be the tiebreak if Korea defeats Australia tonight. A win by Korea would create a three-team tie for second place in Pool C: Korea, Australia and Chinese Taipei would all have 2-2 records. The tiebreakers would only take into account the three games played among the three teams. (aka the games against Japan and Czechia are disregarded.) Chinese Taipei 0-3 Australia Chinese Taipei 5-4 Korea (in 10 innings) Korea W-L Australia I was under the belief that TQB (Total Quality Balance) would be the tiebreak. Nope The WBC section of the MLB website states that the tiebreak would be "the lowest quotient of fewest runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in the games in that round between the teams tied." Chinese Taipei allowed 7 runs total against Korea (4) and Australia (3). They played a total of 19 innings on defense (10 vs Korea, 8 vs Australia). 19 innings translates to 57 defensive outs. So Chinese Taipei's quotient is 0.1228 Korea are currently 4 runs allowed in 30 defensive outs. Australia at 0 runs allowed in 27 defensive outs. Who would advance if Korea defeats Australia? Korea would advance if they score at least 7 runs WITHOUT allowing more than 2 runs. Australia would advance if they Lose by a maximum of four runs or less AND do not allow more than six runs. Chinese Taipei need Korea to score at least 8 runs while winning by 5 or more runs. This grid I'm reposting is correct as is another chart posted by KBO. Of course, all this would be mute if Australia beats Korea. Official numbers nowIf Korea wins by:1-0🇦🇺2-0🇦🇺2-1🇦🇺3-0🇦🇺3-1🇦🇺3-2🇦🇺4-0🇦🇺4-1 🇦🇺4-2🇦🇺4-3🇦🇺5-0🇰🇷5-1🇦🇺5-2🇦🇺5-3🇦🇺5-4🇦🇺6-0🇰🇷6-1🇰🇷6-2🇦🇺6-3🇦🇺6-4🇦🇺6-5🇦🇺7-0🇰🇷7-1🇰🇷7-2🇰🇷7-3🇦🇺7-4🇦🇺7-5🇦🇺7-6🇦🇺8-0🇰🇷8-1🇰🇷8-2🇰🇷8+-3+🇹🇼Taiwan needs Korea 8+ AND Australia 3+— KBO in English (@KBO_ENG) March 8, 2026
A run for Korea in the 9th inning proved to be the difference as they 'held on' to defeat Australia 7-2, a scoreline that punches Korea's ticket to Miami and the quarterfinals. As crazy a game as you'll ever see given the criteria of runs allowed and defensive outs recorded. 0.1052 Korea (6 runs allowed / 57 defensive outs) 0.1228 Chinese Taipei (7 runs allowed / 57 defensive outs) 0.1296 Australia (7 runs allowed / 54 defensive outs) It's the first time Korea have advanced out of pool play since 2009, four WBCs ago. In the KBS broadcast booth, former player Park Yong-taek was in tears after the game which his colleagues Jung Yong-gum and Yoon Suk-min enjoyed.
You wouldn't know it by the final score but Samurai Japan struggled to break down the brilliant pitching of the Czech Republic before the floodgates finally opened in the 8th inning leading to a 9-0 win in the final game of Pool C at the Tokyo Dome. Manager Hirokazu Ibata rested many starters including Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki and allowed many reserves a chance to get the job done. It wasn't easy, however, as Czechia's pitching came through in key situations over 7 shutout innings with Japan leaving seven runners stranded on base. In his final appearance for his national team, Czech starter Ondřej Satoria faced 19 batters over 4-2/3 scoreless innings, fanning three and was only forced off the mound due to the tournament's 65 limit pitch count. Samurai pitching more than took control by allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out 14 batters total. Still scoreless after 7 innings, the Nippon offense finally came to life in the 8th with 9 runs on five hits and four walks with a hit batsman. A mental error by Czech fielding allowed Teruaki Sato to race home for the first run. Then Ukyto Shuto added insurance with a three-run blast before Munetaka Murakami broke out of a 2-14 slump with a grand slam to punctuate the frame. Counting the two exhibition games in Osaka, the team have played six games over the past nine days, all starting at 7:00pm local (6am Eastern). They will now board a chartered flight direct to Miami where their quarterfinal match on Saturday will start at 8:00pm local... 8:00 in the morning Japan. They will have four days to adjust to the half-day time difference.
No wasting of time as the team loaded their luggage at the Tokyo Dome and headed to Haneda for the estimated 12 hour chartered flight directly to Miami. Suzuki, Ohtani
This appears to be their flight. JAL 8800 Departed HND Wednesday 11-Mar-2026 02:10AM JST (12 minutes early) ETA MIA Wednesday 11-Mar-2026 02:14AM EDT
／#WorldBaseballClassic 東京プール全日程終了！＼侍たちのマイアミでの健闘を、ここ東京ドームから祈っています。Good Luck !#侍ジャパン#tokyodome#東京ドーム pic.twitter.com/39b2yL4ZN4— TOKYO DOME｜東京ドーム (@tokyodome1988_) March 10, 2026 ⚾️2026 World Baseball Classic™⚾️ 侍ジャパンの皆さんが✈️JALのチャーター便でマイアミへ✈️先ほどマイアミに到着😊お疲れさまでした‼️✨次は準々決勝ラウンド✊JALは引き続き全力で応援していきます😆※写真は出発直前の様子です。#JALスポーツ pic.twitter.com/mnqodsvhA0— JAPAN AIRLINES【JAL】 (@JAL_Official_jp) March 11, 2026 A grand slam arrival! 🇯🇵 Team Japan has officially touched down for @WBCBaseball, bringing the talent and champion energy. 🏆We're proud to welcome them as they set off to compete with the world's best teams, right here in our community. ⚾️ @JAL_Official_jp #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/gnygS1K4Ot— Miami Int'l Airport (@iflymia) March 11, 2026
Video from Wednesday's 'voluntary' workout sessions at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami.
Netflix Japan highlights of Dominican Republic vs Venezuela. Victory by the Dominicans means that Japan will play Venezuela in the quarterfinals on Saturday.