Stepping into the batter’s box for the most important moment of his baseball career since leaving his country to play in the big leagues, Shohei Ohtani wasted no time.
It was the ninth inning Monday night at LoanDepot Park. JapanA run down, he was in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic with a three-way loss to the Mexico.
On the hill stood Giovanni Gallegos, the St. Louis Cardinals’ right-hand man, Mexico’s best aide. The first pitch was an 88-mile change off the plate, safe ball. It doesn’t matter. Otani hooked a shot into the right midfield gap for a double. He raised his arms and called to his dugout from the second base. The momentum has shifted.
“It’s been a while since I’ve played the win-or-lose game,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Of course we couldn’t lose and I wanted to get the boys together in the dugout.”
Masataka Yoshida followed with a stride before Munetaka Murakami, coming backstage with three shots in his first four shots, smashed a midfield fastball into the wall. Ohtani and discus runner Ukyo Shoto raced for points and caused thrills in Japan. 6-5 Comeback-Sieg Host a championship game between two baseball powers.
Against him, Japan will be the only country to have beaten the WBC twice The United CitiesThe defending champion took the title on Tuesday evening. And Ahtani will face off against fellow Angels Superstar Mike Trout.
“Not just Mike Trott, but One-Nine in that order is full of stars and household names,” Ohtani said with a smile, “and I look forward to taking on this lineup and doing great things for Japanese baseball.”
Yu Darvish is expected to start ahead of American right-hander Merrill Kelly for Japan, but Ohtani hasn’t ruled out the possibility of starting the game on the mound.
“Probably not,” Otani said in English.
However, if Otani throws the ball, he’ll likely go in as a helper, possibly to end the game.
“I need to see the condition of his body,” said Japan coach Hideki Kuriyama. “As I said before the game, the probability is not zero.”
Kuriyama was Ohtani’s manager when the two-way star last made an assist in a game in October 2016. Along with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, they were one win away from promotion to the Japan Series. The Fighters, who lead the SoftBank Hawks in three rounds, needed three teams. Kuriyama passed the ball to Otani, who started the game as the designated hitter. He threw a perfect inning with two strikeouts.
“Mentally I’m ready to throw,” Ohtani said. “Of course I’m playing, so it’s going to be difficult to find time to get really hot in the parking lot. Before that it’s going to be DH’ing so I’ll focus on that and try and get some missions on the board.”
Ohtani didn’t wait for the game to begin to unfold. He delivered one during batting practice, blasting several balls into the back of the second deck behind the right field wall to gasp onlookers. One of the hits bounced off the scoreboard into right midfield. The fans applauded when he finished.
“I knew Mexico was watching,” Otani said.
Mexican left fielder Randy Arzarena catches a ball from Japan’s Kensuke Kondo in the fifth inning of the World Baseball Classic semifinal game in Miami Monday.
(Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)
Randy Arosarina was the main attraction on the other side. The Mexican left fielder emerged from the dugout before the game in a sombrero and cowboy boots. He went to the TV in the right row, where Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz took selfies with him. He then ran to the other side and snuck up right behind Pedro Martinez.
From there run to the field. It’s time to whip out your practice balls – sombreros, shoes and all. The WBC was Arozarena’s show.
Arosarina, a Cuban who became a Mexican citizen last year to compete in this tournament, signed autographs in left field during outfield changes. He threw his signature celebration — dramatically crossed arms and pose — on the left field wall when he stole a home run in the fifth inning and on second base when he doubled in a tie in the seventh inning.
He then scored the starting shot for Alex Verdugo’s brace. Three strikes later, Isaac Paredes snuck a ground ball through the left flank to put Mexico 5-3 ahead. Arozarena went nine to 20 (.450) in the tournament with six doubles, nine RBIs and 1,507 OPS, cementing his reputation as a big hitter after a historic stint for the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 postseason.
“Randy was amazing today,” said Mexico coach Benji Gil. “That gave us an opportunity to come back.”
When the match started, all eyes were initially on Japanese novice pitcher Rocky Sasaki. Considered by some reviewers to be the best pitcher in the world not already playing in the big leagues, 21-year-old Sasaki has elite fastball and huge potential.
Last April, he threw a perfect game with 19 strikeouts in the Nippon Professional Baseball League — ranked as the second-best league in the world. He followed with eight perfect innings and 14 strikeouts before being pulled from reserve.
It arrived early Monday as advertised. His first pitch was a 101 mph fastball to Arosarina. He later put Arozarena down with a 102 mph fastball down the middle.
Sasaki kept his speed in the triple digits, but he wasn’t a wimp. After back-to-back soft wins by Rudy Tellez and Paredes, Luis Urías put Mexico first with a triple home run off the left field wall.
The blast gave Patrick Sandoval a cushion. The left-hander started his night with two racquets. The third in a row wasn’t going to be easy – Otani was on the plate. The encounter came to a full count before Sandoval hit the star-shaped slider. Sandoval slapped his glove in excitement. He continued to keep Japan scoreless for 4 1/3 innings. He hit six, walked one and threw 66 shots.
“Obviously he put on a really great show and used zeros,” Ohtani said. “We really wanted to score first and not get him comfortably on the mound but we couldn’t do that.”
Japan equalized in the seventh inning when Yoshida, who signed a $90 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in the offseason, hit a triple home run from left-hander Jogo Romero at right.
Japan added another run in the eighth inning, cutting the lead in half and setting the stage for Otani. All the best player in the world needed was a place to turn Japan’s fortunes.
