TOKYO. – The Japan national team (Baseball Team) had to work hard to defeat the Czech Republic (Baseball Team) 9-0 and close its participation in Group C of the 2026 World Baseball Classic undefeated, in a match played at the Tokyo Dome.
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For a large part of the game, the European team was close to pulling off one of the biggest surprises in the history of the tournament by keeping the current champions scoreless until the eighth inning, something that hadn’t happened against Japan in the Classic since 2013.
Czech opener Ondřej Satoria was one of the figures of the match by containing the Japanese offense for 4.2 innings without allowing runs and recording three strikeouts. The right-hander, who had previously gained notoriety for striking out Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 Classic, received an ovation from the public when he left the mound.
However, the panorama changed drastically in the eighth inning. Japan unleashed a nine-run offensive driven by a three-run home run by Ukyo Shuto and a grand slam by the powerful hitter Munetaka Murakami, who sent the ball 425 feet into center field.
Murakami’s hit represented the fifth grand slam of the tournament, adding to those previously connected by Shohei Ohtani, Bo Gyeong Moon, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Stuart Fairchild.
In the mound, Japanese pitching also dominated the game. Pitchers Hiroto Takahashi, Hiroya Miyagi, Yumeto Kanemaru, and Koki Kitayama combined to allow just two hits and record 14 strikeouts in the shutout.
With the triumph, Japan finished the group stage with a perfect 4-0 record and is now preparing to play the quarterfinals in Miami, where they will face the loser of the match between the Dominican Republic (Baseball Team) and Venezuela (Baseball Team).
Despite the defeat, the effort of the Czech Republic was one of the highlights of the match, especially due to the performance of Satoria, who received a standing ovation from the more than 42 thousand fans present at the Tokyo Dome.
