We now know the identity of the second member of the four aces at the World Baseball Classic, after Cuba already obtained its pass yesterday morning. It’s Japan, who defeated Italy 9-3 in front of a roaring crowd of 41,723 at the Tokyo Dome today.
The Japanese thus become the only nation to reach the semi-finals in the first five editions of the Classic. For its part, Italy, led by Mike Pizza, had passed the group stage for the first time since 2013.
Even if nothing is ever cast in stone, we could all expect this kind of result, the gap between the two nations being far too big to cause a surprise.
In the victory for his team, Shohei Ohtani pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing only two earned runs and passing five batters in the mitt. It was probably the Nippon’s last start in the tournament, even if he will be available for the final, if necessary.
At bat, Ohtani also stood out by scoring two runs in four appearances at the plate. Boston Red Sox teammate Masataka Yoshida hit a long ball and drove in two runs for the Japanese.
Japan will therefore travel to Miami to play one of the two semi-finals on Monday against the winner of the quarter-final match between Puerto Rico and Mexico. Cuba will play the other semi-final against the United States or Venezuela.
There are therefore only 5 matches left in the World Classic, at the rate of one match per day. Candy for fans just before the start of the MLB regular season. The beautiful season is officially launched!
