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March 21, 2023

WBC Final: Japan 3, United States 2

United States - 010 000 010 - 2  9  0
Japan - 020 100 00x - 3 5 0

Shohei Ohtani came out of the bullpen for the top of the ninth, determined to preserve Japan's 3-2 lead in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship game and give his home country its third title in five tournaments.

Ohtani fell behind Jeff McNeil 3-1, but got him to foul two pitches off. His full count offering was too low and the United States had its leadoff man on as the potential tying run. Mookie Betts, who had singled in the fifth and seventh, took a 98-mph fastball just off the heart of the plate before hitting into a 4-6-3 double play. 

With the US down to its final out, the baseball world was given the match-up so many people were hoping to see and one that could not be scripted. Ohtani vs. Mike Trout, two teammates who are also two of the best baseball players on the planet. Trout doubled in the first inning, but had struck out twice and lined to right since then. Ohtani started him off with a slider at 88 for ball one. It's a pitch that is also referred to as a "sweeper" because of its significant horizontal movement. The next pitch was a fastball at 100. Trout swung and missed. Then another fastball, also at 100, but a little too far outside. Ohtani's 2-1 was yet another heater at 100 – and thrown defiantly right down the heart of the plate. Holy shit! Trout tried to hit it, but could not. 2-2 – Ohtani and Japan were one strike away. A 102-mph fastball was well outside and catcher Yuhei Nakamura let it go to the backstop. Full count. Ohtani came back with a sweeper at 87 that made a distinct swerve away from the zone and away from the batter. Trout had no chance. He had committed himself to swinging, but could not reach Ohtani's 14th and final pitch of the inning. 

Japan's 3-2 victory gave it a perfect 7-0 record in this tournament and a 30-8 all-time record in WBC games.

Ohtani was named the tourament's Most Valuable Player. He finished with a batting line of .435/.606/.739, with four doubles, one home run, nine runs scored, and nine RBI. In addition to his inning of relief, he started two games (one of which was against Italy in the quarterfinals) and allowed only two runs in 8.2 innings and struck out 10.

The game was tight and well-played, with almost all of the runs coming on long balls. Trea Turner gave the United States its only lead of the game with a solo blast to left with one out in the second. It was his fifth home run of the tournament. Shota Imanaga (2-4-1-0-2, 30) then allowed a single to J.P. Realmuto and a two-out hit to Tim Anderson. Any trouble that might have been brewing was dissipated when Betts flied to left.

Munetaka Murakami must have slept peacefully after his game-winning, two-run double against Cuba on Monday night. He walked to plate to lead off the second, saw one pitch from Merrill Kelly, and crushed it 432 feet into the second deck in right-center. The ball leapt off his bat at a remarkable 115.1 mph. Kazuma Okamoto carved a single into right and, after an out, Sosuke Genda singled to left and Nakamura walked. The US went to the bullpen, replacing Kelly (1.1-3-2-2-1, 36) with Aaron Loup. Lars Nootbaar's first-to-pitcher groundout brought in Okamoto for a 2-1 lead.

Shosei Togo was the first man out of Japan's pen. He fanned Trout with a splitter in the dirt and got Paul Goldschmidt on a fly to left. But then he walked both Nolan Arenado and Kyle Schwarber and faced Turner with two men on. Togo struck out Turner with a changeup that darted down and in. Togo faced the bottom third of the US lineup in the third and got them in order.

Hiroto Takahashi gave up an infield single to Betts to start the fourth. John Tumpane had called Betts out, but the US challenged that call. The replays showed clearly that Mookie was safe. Takahaski struck out Trout swinging (at another low splitter) and Goldschmidt looking at a low fastball. Arenado lined a single to left, but Schwarber flied to center on a 3-0 pitch to end the threat.

Okamoto homered to left-center to start Kyle Freeland's second inning of work. It increased Japan's lead to 3-1 – a significant insurance run – and its win expectancy to 79.3%. 

Jason Adam dug himself a large hole in the sixth, but managed to wriggle away unscathed. Adam started off by striking out Murakami and Okamoto. But then he walked Tetsuto Yamada, who promptly stole second on the next pitch. And then he walked Genda. And then he walked Nakamura. A bases loaded situation earned him a visit at the mound. Adam went to 2-2 on Nootbaar before getting the third out on the only ball of the inning put into play, a fly to short right.

The US threatened in the seventh against Taisei Ota, who made the serious mistake of walking pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil with the top of the lineup coming up. Betts lined a single into left and the US had the potential tying runs on. Ota's first pitch to Trout was inside and hit the knob at the end of his bat. It could have just as easily hit his hand, which would have loaded the bases. But Trout lined the next pitch to right and Kensuke Kondoh made the catch. Goldschmidt swung and missed at two pitches and then rapped into a double play. That lowered the US's win expectancy to 10.7%.

In the eighth, as Schwarber batted against Yu Darvish with one out, Ohtani began casually tossing a ball in the bullpen. With a 1-2 count, Schwarber proceeded to foul off six pitches, seeing everything Darvish had to offer: cutter, 4-seam fastball, slider, splitter, 4-seamer, curve. The tenth pitch of Schwarber's impressive at-bat was belted to deep right-center for a home run that cut Japan's lead to 3-2 (and upped the US's win expectancy to 19.3%).

Turner followed with a looping single to right-center, but Darvish got Realmuto to pop to short and Cedric Mullins to fly to center. (As I wrote the "8" on my scorecard, I realized Trout would be the third man up in the ninth and could face Ohtani with two outs.) When the bottom of the eighth began, Ohtani was alone in the pen. Yamada walked with two outs and stole second (his second steal of the game), but was stranded when Genda grounded to third (and the call was upheld after a challenge).

And then Ohtani walked in from the bullpen to pitch the top of the ninth. He has not pitched in relief in the major leagues (63 starts). His last relief appearance was seven years ago, when he faced three batters to help the Nippon-Ham Fighters advance to the 2016 Japan Series.


Merrill Kelly / Shōta Imanaga

The United States and Japan have won three of the four previous WBC championships.

2006: Japan 10, Cuba 6
2009: Japan 5, South Korea 3
2013: Dominican Republic 3, Puerto Rico 0
2017: United States 8, Puerto Rico 0
2023:

Shohei Ohtani might pitch in relief, which means he could face his teammate Mike Trout in the later innings.

Three ESPN writers offer some comments and predictions:

Alden Gonzalez: USA 6, Japan 4. MVP: Mike Trout
Jeff Passan: Japan 2, USA 1. MVP: Shohei Ohtani
Jesse Rogers: USA 8, Japan 6. MVP: Mookie Betts

My pick: Japan 7, USA 5. MVP: Masataka Yoshida. And Shohei out of the bullpen for the save.

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