TOKYO, March 10 : With superstar Shohei Ohtani on the bench on Tuesday and Samurai Japan assured a playoff berth in the World Baseball Classic, attention in the Tokyo Dome momentarily focused on an electrician from the Czech Republic.
Czech starter Ondrej Satoria, an electrical utility worker who famously struck out Ohtani in the 2023 WBC, threw four and 2/3 innings of shutout baseball against Japan, the most successful WBC team in the event’s 20-year history.
But the dam finally broke in the eighth inning, when a Japanese barrage, highlighted by a grand slam from Chicago White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami, gave the home team a decisive 9-0 victory.
Fans packed into the sold-out Tokyo Dome were disappointed to see national hero Ohtani absent from the starting lineup, but they got a last look at their national team before it heads to the tournament’s next round in Miami.
The WBC is a showcase of national pride in Japan, with the country consistently fielding its best players and leading all other competitors with three championships.
As a measure of that importance, Emperor Naruhito and his family watched Japan’s comeback win over Australia on Sunday, marking the first time a sitting Japanese monarch has attended a professional baseball game since 1966.
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Ohtani hit home runs in Japan’s pool games against Chinese Taipei and South Korea, but he was hitless against Australia, drawing two walks.
Ohtani, 31, is not expected to pitch in the tournament as the Dodgers hope to preserve his arm. The first pitching-batting dual threat since Babe Ruth, Ohtani threw in just 47 innings in the regular season of 2025 as he recovered from a second surgery on his right elbow.
The focus allowed him to dominate at the plate, becoming the first man to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season and being named the National League Most Valuable Player in a unanimous vote.
The tournament, which runs from March 5-17 across Tokyo, Puerto Rico, Houston and Miami, brings together 20 national teams competing in round-robin pools before the top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals.
After going 4-0 in Pool C play, Japan’s next game will be in Miami on Saturday against the runner-up of Pool D, where Venezuela and the Dominican Republic are tied at 3-0.
South Korea also advanced after beating Australia 7-2 on Monday and securing enough runs to break ties with teams of the same record, handing the East Asian country its first playoff berth since 2009.
With tonight’s win, Japan extended its WBC winning streak to 11 games and improved its overall record to 34–8, the best winning percentage of all teams.
Samurai Japan are the defending WBC champions after beating the United States in the 2023 final, a game that ended with a dramatic strike-out by Ohtani over Mike Trout, his Los Angeles Angels teammate at the time.
Perhaps feeling that sting, Team USA are fielding a particularly strong lineup this year and are 3-0 so far against their Pool B competition. The team includes three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh who led the AL last year with 60 homers, and 2025 Cy Young Award winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
The Czechs were winless in their second appearance in the WBC, and Satoria, 29, told MLB this would be his last tournament as he focuses on his family and local team Arrows Ostrava.
