The 2023 World Baseball Classic championship game is underway, with Mike Trout leading the United States against Shohei Ohtani and Japan.
[2023 World Baseball Classic live updates: USA-Japan championship game]
Both teams were among the favorites to reach the title game, but their journeys to this stage were not short of drama.
Team USA needed a dramatic late Trea Turner grand slam to beat Venezuela in the quarterfinals, while Japan staged a furious comeback against Mexico in Monday’s semifinal game capped off by Munetaka Murakami’s walk-off double.
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Here’s how social media reacted to the conclusion of an epic World Baseball Classic!
Trea Turner AGAIN!
“America’s shortstop” hit his fourth home run over his past three WBC games to give Team USA a 1-0 lead and send social media into a frenzy.
Murakami answers!
The star Japan slugger broke out of his WBC slump in a big way with his walk-off double in the semifinal, and continued swinging his hot bat with a no-doubt home run to spark a second-inning rally that gave Japan a 2-1 lead.
Ohtani and Yu Darvish in the bullpen, could they help or hurt Japan?
American baseball fans are plenty familiar with star Japanese aces Ohtani and Darvish, and for good reason — but so are the pitchers’ MLB peers on Team USA. Could familiarity with Japan’s two most feared arms work in Team USA’s favor as Japan clings to a 3-1 lead?
Familiarity may matter more for Darvish than it could for Ohtani, though.
Meanwhile, the pitchers Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama has gone to have held a fearsome USA lineup in check.
Stay tuned for updates!
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