Ohtani puts talent on display in Japan's win

Shohei Ohtani hit a tworun double off the left-field wall, allowed one hit over four innings and got the win, leading Japan over China 8-1 on Thursday night in its opener at the World Baseball Classic.

The Angels two-way star struck out five and walked none in the Group B game at the Tokyo Dome. His fourth-inning double off Weiyi Wang gave Japan a 3-0 lead. Ohtani finished 2 for 4 with two walks.

Ohtani retired his first 10 batters before Weiyi Wang’s single in the fourth. Ohtani threw 32 of 49 pitches for strikes.

Before a crowd of 41,616, Japan went ahead in the first when the St. Louis Cardinals’ Lars Nootbar (El Segundo High, USC) singled leading off and loser Xiang Wang walked three straight batters, including two-time Central League MVP Munetaka Murakami with the bases loaded.

Nootbar made a sprawling catch in center on Jinjun Luo in the second.

Pei Liang cut the gap to 3-1 with a sixth-inning homer off Shosei Togo, but Shugo Maki homered in the seventh against Changlong Su and Takuya Kai capped a four-run eighth with a two-run double after Tetsuto Yamada hit an RBI single and Sosuke Genda walked with the bases loaded. AUSTRALIA 8, SOUTH KOREA 7 >> In the other Group B opener in Tokyo, Robbie Perkins and Robert Glendinning hit three-run homers to lead Australia.

Perkins gave Australia an 8-4 lead with an eighthinning homer off Hyeonjong Yang, who threw only seven pitches and got no one out.

Logan Wade’s secondinning sacrifice fly and Kennelly’s solo homer off Young Pyo Ko in the fifth built a 2-0 lead but Euiji Yang hit a three-run homer against Daniel Mcgrath in the bottom half.

Glendinning homered off loser Won Jung Kim in the seventh.

Steven Kent, Will Sherriff and Sam Holland combined for five walks and a hit batter in a threerun bottom of the eighth, when Holland struck out Sung Bum Na to strand two runners.

Jon Kennedy, the fourth of nine Australia pitchers, got the win. NETHERLANDS 3, PANAMA 1 >> In Group A, Xander Bogaerts and Jurickson Profar homered as the Netherlands (2-0) beat Panama (1-1) in Taichung, Taiwan.

Bogaerts homered in the third off loser Jaime Barría, and Profar went deep in the fifth against Alberto Guerrero.

Erasmo Caballero’s RBI single in the sixth against Mike Bolsenbroek pulled Panama to 2-1, and Bogaerts doubled in the eighth and scored on an Alberto Baldonado wild pitch.

Winner Shairon Martis allowed three hits in 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

ITALY 6, CUBA 3, 10 INNINGS >> In the other Group A game in Taichung, Nicky Lopez’s two-run single capped a four-run 10th to lead Italy (1-0), which is managed by Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza.

Brett Sullivan hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth off Naykel Cruz and Miles Mastrobuoni added an RBI double in the seventh against Liván Moinelo.

Lorenzo Quintana pulled Cuba (0-2) to 2-1 in the bottom half with an RBI single against Vinny Nittoli, and Erisbel Arruebarrena hit a tying single in the eighth off winner Matt Festa that drove in Alfredo Despaigne.

John Valente hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th off loser Raidel Martínez.

EUGENE HOSHIKO – THE ASSOCIATED PRESS