Baseball-Japan power past Australia in front of Emperor Naruhito

By Rocky Swift

TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) – Masataka Yoshida’s late home run triggered a comeback win for Samurai Japan over Australia on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome, where Emperor Naruhito made a rare appearance to watch the World Baseball Classic Pool C match-up.

The underdog Australians struck first in the sixth inning when outfielder Aaron Whitefield came home after a throwing error by Japanese catcher Kenya Wakatsuki.

But in the seventh, Yoshida connected with a two-run shot over right centre field. Japan put on two more runs of insurance in the eighth, and hung on for the 4-3 victory.

Japanese national hero Shohei Ohtani, who had homered in the prior two games in the tournament, failed to make an impact on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was in a prime spot to do damage when he came up to bat with the bases loaded in the third inning, but Shugo Maki was picked off by Australian catcher Robbie Perkins for the third out.

Yoshida, an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox, also homered in Japan’s victory over South Korea on Saturday and has racked up 19 runs batted in (RBIs) in his WBC appearances, the third most ever.

A global sporting spectacle now in its sixth incarnation since 2006, the WBC is a showcase of national pride in Japan, with the nation consistently fielding their best players and leading all other nations with three championships.

Signifying that importance, Emperor Naruhito watched the game from a box over the home plate — the first time a sitting Japanese monarch has attended a professional baseball game since 1966 — according to the Yomiuri newspaper.

The tournament, which runs from March 5-17 across Tokyo, Puerto Rico, Houston and Miami, brings together 20 national teams competing in round-robin pools before the top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals.

After beating Taiwan and South Korea in Pool C, Japan was already assured a ticket to go on to the playoffs in Miami.

Samurai Japan are the defending WBC champions after beating the United States in the 2023 final and the two teams are the favourites to meet in this year’s final.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift in Tokyo.)