Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the second inning and delivered the moment over 42,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome had been waiting for, launching a grand slam to right field.
The blast ignited a historic rally as Japan erupted for ten runs in the inning, a new World Baseball Classic record. Samurai Japan added three more runs in the third, built a 13-0 lead, and secured a mercy rule victory in seven innings over Chinese Taipei to open its WBC title defense.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned the win with 2 ⅔ hitless innings, striking out two and walking three.
Ohtani had already made an early impact, doubling on the first pitch of the game before being stranded at third. But Japan did not miss its opportunity the next inning. The bases were loaded on a walk by Munetaka Murakami, a single from Shugo Maki, and a hit by pitch to Sosuke Genda. Kenya Wakatsuki popped out, but Ohtani followed by crushing a 117 mph grand slam to make it 4-0.
The inning continued to unravel for Chinese Taipei. With two outs, Masataka Yoshida lined an RBI double, and Murakami followed with an RBI infield single, chasing starter Hao-Chun Cheng from the game. Japan kept piling on as Genda and Wakatsuki added RBI singles, and Ohtani capped the inning with another timely hit. Cheng was charged with eight earned runs in 1 ⅔ innings.
Japan added three more runs in the third as Kazuma Okamoto delivered an RBI single and Genda followed with a two-run single to push the lead to 13-0.
Yamamoto was lifted in the third after throwing 53 pitches, leaving with the bases loaded following an error and two walks. Shoma Fujihira entered and escaped the jam with a key strikeout.
Yamamoto’s former teammate on the Orix Buffaloes, Hiroya Miyagi, then worked two scoreless innings to keep Chinese Taipei off the board. Stuart Fairchild nearly broke up the shutout in the fifth with a deep drive that was ruled foul down the left field line.
Chinese Taipei finally recorded its first hit in the sixth when Yu Chang singled off Koki Kitayama. Ryuhei Sotani finished the game for the Samurai with a clean seventh inning to secure the mercy rule victory.
It was a night where nearly every decision by manager Hirokazu Ibata paid off, from leading off Ohtani to trusting in Genda at shortstop and moving Yoshida into the cleanup spot over Murakami.
Japan will face Korea tomorrow night in a matchup of 1-0 teams before taking on Australia and Czechia to wrap up Pool C play.
Chinese Taipei, meanwhile, finds itself in a difficult position at 0-2 after also losing to Australia yesterday. The defending WBSC Premier12 champions will face Czechia tomorrow before taking on Korea, hoping to win out and advance to the next round on a tiebreaker.
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Photo: Japan’s Shohei Ohtani bats during the second inning of a World Baseball Classic Pool C game between Japan and Taiwan on Friday, March 6, 2026 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
