(Tokyo) Shohei Ohtani allowed no runs in his first four innings on the mound and contributed a four-run push with a good bunt to a third-inning single in Japan’s 9-3 win over Italy Thursday at World Baseball Classic.
This gain allowed Japan to participate in one of the two semifinal matches for the fifth consecutive edition. His opponent, next Monday in Miami, will be Puerto Rico or Mexico. These two countries will face each other on Friday, in Miami.
In the other semifinal, on Sunday, Cuba will face the United States or Venezuela, who face each other on Saturday.
In front of a Tokyo Dome crowd of 41,723, Ohtani set a personal best with the fastest jump shot since joining the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
In the second round, he struck out Vinnie Pasquantino three times with a 102 mph fastball. On September 10, he booked the same fate for Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros with a shot going 101.4 mph.
Ohtani (2-0) gave up two runs, four hits and walked one in four innings and two-thirds. He had five strikeouts. At base, he hit in four starts, plus a walk. He scored two points.
His batting average since the start of the tournament is . 438 (7-for-16), with one home run, three doubles and eight RBIs. On the mound, he posted a 2.08 ERA and had 10 strikeouts.
If Japan makes the finals on Tuesday, they could be available to start with four days off.
Ohtani extended his streak to eight and two-thirds without giving up runs before Dominic Fletcher hit a weak single to right field after two out in the fifth inning. was the 71It is and Ohtani’s last bid, nine short of the maximum allowed.
Offensively, Masataka Yoshida, a Boston Red Sox player, scored the game’s first run with a ground ball into the infield in the third inning. This was your 10It is run driven, a high tournament.
Kazuma Okamoto added a three-run home run in the third inning for Japan, which outscored their rivals 47-11 in their first five games.