Modified on March 12, 2026

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

Japan in Pool C
vs Czech Republic The Czech side, represented by amateur players including its electrician pitcher, held the Samurai scoreless until the 7th inning. Then in the 8th inning, the Samurai went wild. Shuto slammed a 3 run homer. With bases loaded Munetaka Murakami grand slammed. Samurai won 9 to 0. Czech pitcher Ondrej Satoria who was making this his last game was given a grand farewell by fans at the Tokyo Dome.

vs Australia For the first time in 60 years, the Japanese emperor attended a baseball game. Japanese and Australian players showed the utmost respect. As to the game on March 8 it was competitive. Starter Tomoyuki Sugano, former Giants ace pitched a solid 4 innings. Australia was the first to hit in a run in the 6th inning. In the 7th inning, Shohei was walked. Then Masataka Yoshida homered a 2 run to clinch the lead. In the 8th, the Tigers Teruyuki Sato, hit in a run. In the 9th, pitcher Taisei gave up a 2 run homerun. But Samurai Japan was able to win 4 to 3.

vs Republic of Korea On March 7, a competitive game was played against rival South Korea Starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi of the Angels, gave up 3 runs in the first inning. Then in the bottom of that inning, Shohei Ohtani was walked. Seiya Suzuki slammed a 2 run home run. In the 3rd inning, Samurai equalized on Ohtani's home run. Suzuki homered another 2 run, to give his team a lead. Masataka Yoshida homered too. In the 4th inning, Seibu Lions Hiromi Ito succumbed to a 2 run home run. In the 7th inning, another chance for the Samurai,Suzuki was walked with bases full. Yoshida hit in a run. In the 9th inning, the Giants Taisei closed the game. Samurai won 8 to 6.

vs Chinese Taipei On March 6, Samurai Japan played its first game against Chinese Taipei at Tokyo Dome. The starting pitcher, the Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He was not at his best walking 3 hitters, but did not give up a run. He left the mound in 2 2/3 innings. Amazing was teammate Shohei Ohtani. On the first pitch as the first to bat, he slammed a 2 base hit. In the 2nd inning, he grandslammed. Japan scored 10 runs in just that inning. The game was ended in 7 innings due to early termination rules. Japan on 13 to 0.

CENTRAL LEAGUE
Yomiuri Giants	Miyazaki-city, Miyazaki (Feb.1-12) Naha, Okinawa (Feb.14 - Mar.1)
Hanshin Tigers	Ginoza, Okinawa (Feb.1-25)
Yokohama DeNA BayStars	Ginowan, Okinawa (Feb.1-23)
Hiroshima Carp	Nichinan, Miyazaki (Feb.1-12) Okinawa-shi, Okinawa (Feb.14-25)
Tokyo Yakult Swallows	Urazoe, Okinawa (Feb.1-26)
Chunichi Dragons	Chatan, Okinawa (Feb.1-24) )

PACIFIC LEAGUE
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki (Feb.1-Mar.1)
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	Nago, Okinawa (Feb.1-24)
Chiba Lotte Marines	Miyakonojo, Miyazaki (Feb.1-11) Itoman, Okinawa (Feb.13 - 23)
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	Kincho,Okinawa (Feb.1-22)
Orix Buffaloes	Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki (Feb.2-27)
Saitama Seibu Lions	Nichinan, Miyazaki (Feb.1-23)

For info on previous baseball seasons, go to BASEBALL ARCHIVE

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