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Samurai Japan Dominates Netherlands with Back-to-Back One-Hit Shutouts

Yuri KarasawaMar 6, 20256 MIN READ
Samurai Japan Dominates Netherlands with Back-to-Back One-Hit Shutouts

World No. 1 Japan swept the No. 7-ranked Kingdom of the Netherlands, 5-0 and 9-0, in a two-game series at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka. Last year, the Samurai faced the All-Europe All-Stars in the same venue, sweeping the set with two shutouts, including a combined perfect game.

History nearly repeated itself as Japan came just four outs shy of another combined perfect game on Thursday night. In the end, Japan held the Netherlands to just one hit in each game, as the Dutch hitters were clearly overmatched against NPB’s top arms, most of whom averaged over 93 mph throughout the series.

The series was sponsored by RAXUS and officially recognized by the WBSC. Attendance was 28,618 for the opener and 21,747 in the second game. It was Japan’s first event since a disappointing loss to Chinese Taipei in the 2024 Premier12 Gold Medal game, which ended their 27-game winning streak in major international competitions.

Manager Hirokazu Ibata assembled a well-balanced roster of NPB superstars, up-and-coming talents, and younger prospects looking to make their mark. Beyond winning, the series aims to give players valuable international experience while evaluating potential options for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Game 1: Japan 5, Netherlands 0

Half-Nigerian breakout star Shun Mizutani set the tone with a leadoff home run and six Japanese pitchers combined to one-hit the Netherlands as the Samurai took the series opener, 5-0.

Orix Buffaloes ace Hiroya Miyagi, a member of the 2023 WBC team, got the Game 1 start at his home stadium after posting a 1.91 ERA in NPB last season. He threw three perfect innings, recording four strikeouts in the process.

He was relieved by fellow southpaws Atsuya Horie and Yuki Hashimoto, who combined for two shutout innings. Seibu Lions ace Tatsuya Imai took over in the sixth, firing two hitless, scoreless frames with three strikeouts while topping out at 98 mph.

Nippon-Ham Fighters outfielder Shun Mizutani, who was making his national team debut, led off the game with a homer against Netherlands starter Kevin Kelly. Japan had a chance to blow the game open early; but Eric Mendez Matos entered in relief with two outs in the first and tossed 2 ⅓ scoreless innings, striking out four.

The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Lotte Marines outfielder Akito Takabe delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded, scoring Yusuke Ohyama and Naoki Yoshikawa. Seiya Hosokawa added an RBI single in the eighth, followed by a Takashi Umino RBI double, extending the lead to 5-0.

Hanshin Tigers setup man Daichi Ishii and Hiroshima Carp prospect Hayato Tsunehiro finished the game with two more clean innings, securing Japan’s shutout victory. The staff combined for 11 strikeouts with just one hit and one walk allowed.

Game 2: Japan 9, Netherlands 0.

More dominant pitching and a decisive seven-run fifth inning sealed the series sweep for Samurai Japan with a 9-0 win.

Lotte Marines right-hander Atsuki Taneichi got the start for Japan, averaging 96 mph on his fastball while racking up swings and misses with his splitter. He tossed two perfect innings, striking out two. SoftBank Hawks righty Ryosuke Ohtsu took over in relief and kept the momentum going, throwing two more perfect innings with two punchouts.

Japan struggled to generate offense early, as Shairon Martis, Lars Huijer, and Juancarlos Sulbaran combined to hold them scoreless with just one hit through the first four innings. Japan broke through in the fifth against Koen Postelmans, scoring twice after an error in right field by Ray-Patrick Didder made it 1-0, followed by a Shun Mizutani RBI triple to extend the lead to 2-0.

Postelmans was relieved by Aaron De Groot but the Samurai kept the pressure on as Hanshin Tigers star Yusuke Ohyama dispatched a fastball into the left field seats to double the lead. After a pair of walks, Yukinori Kishida added an RBI infield single, making it 5-0. Back-to-back wild pitches by Franklin Van Gurp extended the lead to 7-0.

Yukiya Saito, Ryusei Kawano, Kazuki Sugiyama kept Japan’s combined perfect game bid intact through innings five to seven. Japan added two more runs in the eighth inning to make it 9-0.

Orix Buffaloes left-hander Ryuhei Sotani entered in the bottom half to close out the game, but with two outs on a full count, Dayson Croes softly tapped a ball to third, resulting in an infield hit. Sotani retired the next four batters, sealing another shutout win for Japan.

What We Learned

Samurai Japan dominated the series with a combined 14-0 score, out-hitting the Netherlands 18-2. While the result was no surprise, this marked Japan’s second consecutive year completely shutting down European opposition in a preseason exhibition series.

Many different arms continue to impress, making next year’s roster selection process even more challenging for Ibata, whose greatest strength as Samurai Japan manager so far has been his ability to identify a diverse group of pitchers with high-end stuff and upside.

One of his managerial quirks is his emphasis on the No. 6 spot in the batting order, which he sees as a second cleanup role for sluggers. Shugo Maki regularly held the spot at the Premier12, while Seiya Hosokawa slotted in for the first game of this series. A lineup featuring Seiya Suzuki or Masataka Yoshida in the six-hole at the WBC seems plausible, though many fans would question his judgement.

The Netherlands, led by Evert Jan ’t Hoen, used the series as a learning experience for its younger talents. With MLB players available for the WBC, the roster will become significantly stronger, so there is no need to dwell on the losses. However, their fundamentals in the second game were lacking, with too many defensive mistakes, walks, and wild pitches.

Full Japan Roster

Pitchers
Hiroya Miyagi

Ryuhei Sotani

Atsuki Taneichi

Hayato Tsunehiro

Yukiya Saito

Yuki Hashimoto

Ryosuke Ohtsu

Ryusei Kawano

Atsuye Horie

Kazuki Sugiyama

Tatsuya Imai

Daichi Ishii

Catchers

Yukinori Kishida

Yuudai Yamamoto

Takashi Umino

Infielders

Yusuke Ohyama

Naoki Yoshikawa

Keito Mori

Hideki Nagaoka

Teruaki Sato

Ryo Ohta

Ryuta Hirose

Masaya Yano

Outfielders

Akito Takabe

Shun Mizutani

Seiya Hosokawa

Koki Kajiwara

Chusei Mannami

Full Netherlands Roster

Pitchers

Eric Mendez Matos

Scott Prins

Lars Huijer

Koen Postelmans

Pim Vijfvinkel

Aaron De Groot

Ryan Huntington

Kevin Kelly

Tom De Blok

Shairon Martis

Juancarlos Sulbaran

Franklin Van Gurp

Wendell Floranus

Catchers

Donovan Antonia

Jair Van Borkulo

Yurdion Martie

Infielders

Stijn van der Meer

Junior Martina

Croes Dayson

Juremi Profar

Didi Gregorius

Sheryven Newton

Eugene Helder

Outfielders

Ray Patrick Didder

Jiandido Tromp

Rushenten Tomsjansen

Utility

Delano Selassa

Dwayne Kemp

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