NAGOYA, JAPAN — Shohei Ohtani knows who he is to the Japanese baseball community, and he acts accordingly. Ohtani, who is famous for NOT taking on-field batting practice in the U.S., made a completely understandable exception to his policy, and treated Japanese fans to a show prior to Team Japan’s tune-up on Friday.
Fans packed the stands early for batting practice, and by the time the MLB contingent stepped into the cage, the building was close to full even though those players were not eligible to appear in the game.
The crowd got exactly what it came for. Shohei Ohtani (because of course) led the show with 11 home runs during batting practice, and Seiya Suzuki (Cubs) and Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox) added their own loud swings, mixing towering fly balls with sharp line drives that had the dome buzzing.
The game turned out to be a tight one: a 5-3 win over the Chunichi Dragons. You can check out the highlights below. Once the game began, the biggest eruption came from the clean-up spot. Teruaki Sato (Hanshin), batting fourth for the third straight game, jumped on an inside, low cutter from Dragons starter Yuya Yanagi and launched a three-run homer into the right-field stands. After the game, manager Hirokazu Ibata put it in simple baseball terms: “In a chance, with one swing, three runs come in. That’s big.”
Japan added on in the second inning when support roster member Tai Sasaki (Hiroshima) hit a solo home run to left, turning the early momentum into a 4–0 cushion and giving the lineup another jolt of energy.
On the mound, the day belonged to the pitchers at the front of the plan. Hiroya Miyagi (Orix) started and worked three scoreless innings, allowing one hit while changing speeds and living on the edges. Ibata praised both the life on the ball and the way Miyagi landed his breaking pitches for strikes, saying his starter “threw well, and even in tough counts he kept hitters off balance.” Miyagi liked where his form was, too. “I felt like I threw in a good rhythm,” he said, then pointed to a specific area he wants cleaner as the games get closer to March: “I created trouble from a walk, so I want to keep practicing.” He also mentioned his slow curveball as a weapon he wants to locate with more precision in WBC play.
From the fourth inning on, Atsuki Taneichi (Lotte) brought a different kind of electricity. He hit 156 km/h (about 97 mph), his personal best, and paired mid-150s heat with a hard forkball to retire the side. He said he entered knowing his role and leaned into it: “I knew I’d be used in relief, so I focused on throwing a strong fastball and getting my output.” He felt the offseason work show up in the radar gun and added that he wants a truer, more vertical finish on the forkball going forward.
Japan did absorb a little turbulence late, including a brief injury scare when Taisei (Giants) left with leg discomfort in the ninth, but Ibata expressed confidence it was minor. The series continues February 28 at 7 p.m. in Nagoya, and with the WBC opener set for March 6, Samurai Japan’s preparation is starting to look sharp and very real. We’ll keep you posted on the first Shohei sighting in Japan. For now, it looks like he’ll be limited to wowing the crowd at BP.
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