Ohtani powers Japan
TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani had another RBI double, 21-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki reached 100 mph 21 times in 66 pitches and Japan beat the Czech Republic 10-2 on Saturday night to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the World Baseball Classic.
Shugo Maki hit his second home run of the tournament and new Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida had three RBIs, including a go-ahead, tworun double in the third inning off loser Ondrej Satoria as the Samurai Warriors overcame a 1-0 deficit.
Ohtani went 1 for 3 with a walk before a crowd of 41,637 in the Tokyo Dome, leaving for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. He is 5 for 10 with three doubles, four RBIs and five walks for Japan (3-0), which has one more group game and will host a quarterfinal on Wednesday or Thursday. He also has pitched four scoreless innings.
Sasaki struck out eight in 3 ⅔ innings and got the win. He allowed an unearned run, two hits and two walks.
Sasaki threw the 16th perfect game in Japanese major league history in April, then pitched eight perfect innings in his next start before being pulled after 102 pitches. He went 9-2 with a 2.02 ERA for the Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Marines last year, striking out 173 in 129 ⅓ innings.
Puerto Rico 9, Nicaragua 1:
Francisco Lindor scored twice and hit an RBI single as Puerto Rico won its 2023 WBC debut. Lindor singled and scored in the first inning. Elian Miranda hit a homer off starter Marcus Stroman in the fifth to tie it at 1. Puerto Rico retook the lead in the bottom half with a five-run inning against JC Ramirez. Lindor and Javier Baez both drove in runs in the fifth, Kike Hernandez scored and MJ Melendez hit a two-run single to give Puerto Rico a 6-1 lead. Puerto Rico added to its lead with a three-run seventh when Emmanuel Rivera scored on a fielding error and Christian Vázquez added a two-run single. Vázquez had two hits, a pair of RBIs and scored once. Nicholas Padilla got the win for Puerto Rico.
Taiwan 9, Netherlands 5:
Boston’s Yu Chang hit a tiebreaking, second-inning grand slam that lifted host Taiwan (2-1) to a win over the Netherlands (2-1). Chang homered off Derek West after Li Lin’s tying RBI single against loser Lars Huijer. Chang hit a two-run homer in the 11-7 victory over Italy and is 6 for 12 with seven RBIs in the tournament. Winner Tzu-Peng Huang gave up two runs — one earned — and two hits in 2 2/3 innings. Didi Gregorius had two RBIs for the Netherlands, including a firstinning RBI single.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani (16) celebrates the team’s 10-2 victory against the Czech Republic on Saturday. Ohtani is 5 for 10 with three doubles, four RBIs and five walks as Japan (3-0) advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic.
Australia 12, China 2: Rixon Wingrove had four RBIs as Australia (2-0) won in a rout of China (0-3) in a game shortened to seven innings by the 10-run mercy rule. Wingrove hit a threerun double off loser Xin Qi in the first inning and added an RBI single in a five-run fourth as the Southern Thunder opened a 10-2 lead. Winner Kyle Glogoski allowed one hit in 2 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and three walks.
Panama 2, Italy 0:
Jose Ramos homered off loser Michele Vassalotti leading off the second inning and scored on Allen Cordoba’s seventh-inning single against Sam Gaviglio. Ramos is hitting .313 (5 for 16). Italy put runners at the corners in the ninth when Javy Guerra walked Dominic Fletcher leading off and Brett Sullivan singled, but John Valente struck out and Nicky Lopez hit a comebacker that Panama turned into a gameending double play.
Columbia 5, Mexico 4 (10):
Colombia beat Mexico when Jorge Alfaro scored on an error by shortstop Luis Urias. The back-and-forth game saw Mexico take a 1-0 lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Isaac Paredes. Colombia tied the game in the top of the fifth and then took a 3-1 lead on a two-run homer by Reynaldo Rodriguez. Mexico’s Randy Arozarena responded with his own two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 3-all. The game was tied at 4 going into extra innings. In the 10th, Gustavo Campero hit a grounder that Urias couldn’t handle, which allowed Alfaro to score. Guillermo Zuñiga retired Mexico in order in the bottom of the 10th to seal the win.