I'm not sure if a better CF would have made that diving play in the first, but Seiya Suzuki cancels it out. He hits a two-run homer and Japan is down by one.
I think that's Japan's path to winning: Any defensive deficiencies papered over with just an all-out dinger assault
The Tokyo Dome was so loud, you could be mistaken for having thought Samurai Japan was playing. Instead, it was Chinese Taipei who packed the place with 40,000 fans from Taiwan in its 14-0 win against Czechia.
www.mlb.com/news/chinese...
Czechia manager Pavel Chadim is one of my most favorite people in the world. Here's one reason why. He said this after losing, 14-0, to Chinese Taipei
He gave up an RBI single, but then came back and got a strike out on a 65 mph pitch, so what do I know about anything. He then hits a batter, reaches the three batter minimum, and is out. Chadim clearly put him in the game as a sign of respect, and his day -- and perhaps his career -- is done.
Schneider told me earlier this week that his arm is not all the way back and you can tell. If radar gun is correct, his last few pitches have come in around 65 mph.
Martin Schneider, the famed firefighter and longtime hero for the Czechs, takes the mound. He's returning from shoulder surgery and this could very well be his last game.
Read more about him more in an excerpt from WE SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO BASEBALL: www.mlb.com/news/czech-f...
D-backs prospect and Premier12 winning pitcher Yu-Min Lin enters for Chinese Taipei and the crowd lets out an excited murmur. I'd say they get loud, but they can't actually get any louder.
Brazil pitcher Joseph Contreras, 17, is the youngest player to appear in a World Baseball Classic game since 2013.
On Thursday, he did his math homework.
On Friday, he faced Aaron Judge.
I love eating here! Or I guess I LOVED eating here because I'm not going to wait in those lines
And Daniel Missaki is still on the roster for the team now!
With 17-year-old Joseph Contreras and 40-year-old Tiago da Silva, Brazil is the first team in WBC history to use players 40+ and under 18 in the same game
Only other team to use a sub-18-year-old and 40+ year-old in the same WBC at all:
Brazil in 2013: Daniel Missaki (age 16), Ernesto Norris (40)
Stuart Fairchild -- who believes his foul ball was a home run last night -- now hammers a grand slam off Jan Novak and Chinese Taipei are up 6-0.
The fans from Taiwan are going NUTS. This might be louder than most concerts I've attended.
I'm so proud to have graduated from Emerson College -- most of my best friends are from there, as is my wife -- so very happy to see this story on my new book WE SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO BASEBALL in Emerson Today.
today.emerson.edu/2026/03/04/c...
Tough Gummy is making sure everyone in the WBC media room is going to be chewing well
A rough start for Czechia here: Chinese Taipei gets two singles that, in total, went about 150 feet. Then a double steal and a throwing error and CT is up 1-0 with a runner on third with one out.
Packed house at the Tokyo Dome for Chinese Taipei-Czechia.
Manager Pavel Chadim has changed his number 13 to 89 this tournament for two reasons: Former Samurai Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama, who visited his home in Brno after the 2023 tournament, and Czechia's Velvet Revolution
Back on the natl team for the first time since winning gold in 2008 and finishing second in the WBC in '09, Hyun Jin Ryu wants to lead a young staff back to greatness.
"I remember a lot of good veterans were there for me. So, I try to do the same thing"
www.mlb.com/news/hyun-ji...
Bienvenidos al Hiram Bithorn
The distinctive roof and light towers at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico
A World Baseball Classic sign on the padding in front of seats at Hiram Bithorn Stadium
The view from our broadcast booth at Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Day Zero.
Back on the natl team for the first time since winning gold in 2008 and finishing second in the WBC in '09, Hyun Jin Ryu wants to lead a young staff back to greatness.
"I remember a lot of good veterans were there for me. So, I try to do the same thing"
www.mlb.com/news/hyun-ji...
Yeah, but Australia shut them out too
jballallen.com/no-stopping-...
#shohei_ohtani, #unicorn, #WBC, #Samurai_Japan
Can he at least swing the bat with both hands and make it look like he's trying
How Japan adopted the Czech Republic as its second WBC team www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/...
I really screwed up picking Chinese Taipei as my sleepr team who would advance from the Tokyo pool, huh
Chinese Taipei’s starting pitcher today, Hao-Chun Cheng, is nicknamed Mei Mei, which means Beautiful Beautiful
He gave himself the nickname 🙃
Ohtani hits a grand slam and stirs the matcha as he rounds third base. Guy knows how to put on a show.
One pitch, one swing, one double for Shohei Ohtani. He's good.
LFG
When Curtis Mead was growing up, his father tried to push him toward Australian rules football, thinking there was a better chance of a successful career than getting to the Major Leagues.
All of Australia is happy he chose baseball. www.mlb.com/world-baseba...
