by Aleksi UyHam
On March 21, Japan played the US in the final of the World Baseball Classic. Angels teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were on opposing teams in the final game. This match up turned out to be a pivotal one for the game’s outcome.
The US took a lead in the top of the second inning with a home run by Matt Turner, but later in the inning, Munetaka Murakami hit a home run followed by Kazuma Okamoto’s run after a ground ball by Lars Nootbaar. In the next inning, Kazuma Okamoto hit a home run. After good pitching by multiple pitchers from each team, Kyle Shwawrber hit a home run in the 8th inning. Japan was unable to get any hits in the bottom of the 8th. It all came down to Shohei Ohtani pitching in the 9th inning. After Ohtani let one runner walk, the infield came up big for a double play. The next batter was Mike Trout. Ohtani pitched three balls and two strikes so it all came to the last pitch.
Ohtani pitched an 87 mph slider that went just outside of the strikes zone, but Trout swung and missed which meant Japan won! Shohei Ohtani was named the tournament MVP for his accurate batting and skillful pitching.