Munetaka Murakami’s deep double bounced off the wall to score Shohei Ohtani from second and pinch runner Ukyo Shuto from first to win the World Baseball Classic semifinal against Mexico and send Japan to its third final.
Japan never led until the final shot of the game, having trailed 3-0 and then 5-3 to Mexico over the course of the match.
Mexico’s closer Giovanni Gallegos allowed a double to Ohtani and then walked Masataka Yoshida to set up the game-winning hit for Murkami. Shuto came in to pinch run for Yoshida.
Japan, which won the first two WBC games in 2006 and 2009 and reached the semifinals in the last two editions, will face the United States for the championship on Tuesday in Miami.
Mexico led 5-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, and the Los Angeles Angels’ Ohtani hit the first pitch from the St. Louis Cardinals’ Gallegos for a double.
Munetaka Murakami’s two-run double sent Japan to the championship against the USA.
Shohei Ohtani’s brace in the ninth sparked Japan’s comeback to beat Mexico
The players from Japan arrived on the field, heading to their third WBC championship game.
Murakami, the Japan Central League MVP in each of the past two years, then drilled a 1-1 pitch off the wall in right-center field. Ohtani scored, with the speedy Shuto coming home easily as well, to spark a wild celebration.
Ohtani said after the game through an interpreter: “I wish we could have scored more runs earlier to get the pitchers comfortable, but the pitchers delivered and (I’m) glad we got this win.”
Taisei Ota earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth.
Mexico jumped to the top thanks to a three-run home run by Luis Urías of the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning. Japan tied the score on Yoshida’s three-run shot in the seventh to score Ohtani and Kensuke Kondo.
In the eighth, an RBI double by Alex Verdugo of the Boston Red Sox and an RBI single by Isaac Paredes of the Tampa Bay Rays put Mexico up 5-3. Japan halved the deficit on Hotaka Yamakawa’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.
Mexican starter Patrick Sandoval of the Angels pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings, striking out six.
When asked about emotions in the dugout after Yoshida’s three-run home run to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Lars Nootbaar said the team was just trying to keep its head. level and focus.
‘Crazy game, man. crazy emotions. It’s nice to be on top though,’ Nootbaar told Fox after he finished the game.
After being down 3-0, Boston Red Sox signing Masataka Yoshida hit a three-run home run.
The throw scored Ohtani and Kensuke Kondo to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh.
But Mexico took a 5-3 lead on RBI hits by Alex Verdugo (above) and Isaac Paredes in the eighth.
Mexico’s pitchers held off Japan in the eighth inning, but couldn’t hold out in the ninth.
It was Munetaka Murakami who scored Ohtani and Shuto to win the game for Japan.
Japan will now face the United States in the championship game at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
‘Yoshida became so big for us throughout the tournament and we had guys throughout the game, we just weren’t cashing in on him.
“So, I think as a group we were confident that we were going to scratch someone, it’s just a matter of when… That’s the mentality of the group, just never give up. We are playing for our country in the WBC, it’s unbelievable.’
After Japan’s hit and celebration, Ohtani spoke with Fox’s Ken Rosenthal and described what the team was feeling and what went through his head in the bottom of the ninth.
“Murakami was… he was going through a bit of a downturn, but… he came at a pivotal moment that he was going to get over,” Ohtani said through a translator.
‘He was opening the inning, he threw it across the strike zone, I just wanted to give him a good swing. I got a decent first pitch, I was right over the zone, right over the plate, I got a good swing.
Ohtani and Japan now prepare to face his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout and Team USA in the WBC championship game.
Two-way play Ohtani told Rosenthal he’d be available to pitch, but he wants to take some cracks at the plate first.
“I’ll definitely be ready to pitch anywhere, but before that I’ll have to hit and make sure I put some runs on the board before I pitch,” he said in Japanese.
