Japan got off to a hot start in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, defeating Chinese Taipei 13-0 in a game that was shortened to seven innings. As one might expect, Shohei Ohtani was a huge part of that performance, knocking in five runs and coming a triple short of the cycle.
Shohei Ohtani’s World Baseball Classic grand slam is just part of historic performance
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Except there is one major caveat to that performance from Ohtani.
He accomplished that before the third inning.
Japan used a ten-run outburst in the top of the second inning en route to their blowout win over Chinese Taipei, and Ohtani was a driving force for his team.
He opened the game with a rocket for a double, lacing a line drive down the right-field line that hit 117.1 miles per hour off the bat:
While he was stranded on the bases as Japan went scoreless in the first inning, Ohtani came to the dish in the top of the second inning with the bases loaded.
That’s when he did this:
Ohtani went down to get a breaking ball low in the zone, pulling it to right field for a grand slam to give Japan a 4-0 lead early in the contest. But he was not done in the inning, as he came to the plate later with runners on first and third. Ohtani singled to right, bringing shortstop Sōsuke Genda home to give Japan a 10-0 lead.
And giving Ohtani a 3-for-3 start to his 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The Dodgers superstar came to the plate again in the top of the fourth inning, a triple shy of the cycle. But after lining out to first, he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. He finished the game having gone 3-for-4 with a grand slam and five runs batted in, and a little bit of WBC history to boot:
Not a bad start at all.
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