Japan’s World Baseball Classic title defense got off to a rousing start at the Tokyo Dome, with four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani crushing a second-inning grand slam to open the scoring in a blowout 13-0 win over Chinese Taipei.
Ohtani, the reigning WBC MVP, took Hao-Chun Cheng deep with the bases loaded and one out, starting a 10-run Japan inning. Ohtani added an RBI single later in the frame and had already doubled in the first inning.
Japan scored more three runs in the third inning to push their lead to 13-0 en route to a mercy-rule victory (10 runs through seven innings) over Chinese Taipei which, fell to 0-2 in the tournament after losing to Australia in the opener.
‘I thought it might land as an out, so above all, I really wanted to get the first run on the board,’ Ohtani said postgame. ‘I know there will be some tough battles ahead, but if the fans and the team can unite and everyone can help build the excitement together, it will really encourage us.’
Shohei Ohtani stats today
Shohei Ohtani went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBIs in Japan’s World Baseball Classic opener against Chinese Taipei.
The 31-year-old hit a double to lead off the game in the first, hit a grand slam in the second inning to give Japan a 4-0 lead and then added an RBI single as Japan batted around in the second.
Ohtani won his fourth MVP award in 2025 with a career-high 55 home runs and returned to the mound after only hitting in 2024, leading the Dodgers to a second consecutive World Series title.
2025 (LAD): .282 AVG | 55 HR | 102 RBIs | 20 SB | 1.014 OPS
2024 (LAD): .310 AVG | 54 HR | 130 RBIs | 59 SB | 1.036 OPS
2023 (LAA): .304 AVG | 44 HR | 95 RBIs | 20 SB | 1.066 OPS
2022 (LAA): .273 AVG | 34 HR | 95 RBIs | 11 SB | .875 OPS
2021 (LAA): .257 AVG | 46 HR | 100 RBIs | 26 SB | .965 OPS