Baseball-Ohtani grand slam at WBC kicks off Japan rout of Chinese Taipei

TOKYO, March 6 : Shohei Ohtani didn't wait long to give the hometown crowd what they wanted, launching a second inning grand slam to begin a Samurai Japan rout over Chinese Taipei in their World Baseball Classic matchup on Friday.

Fans packed into Tokyo Dome erupted after Ohtani turned on a curveball by Hao-Chun Cheng, sending it over the right field wall. Japan scored six more times in the inning, going on to win 13-0 when the game was called after the seventh due to the mercy rule.

"I thought it might land as an out, so above all, I really wanted to get the first run on the board," Ohtani said in a post-game interview. "I know there will be some tough battles ahead, but if the fans and the team can unite and everyone can help build the excitement together, it will really encourage us."

A global sporting spectacle now in its sixth incarnation since 2006, the WBC is a showcase of national pride in Japan, with the team fielding their best players and leading all other nations with three championships.

Already among the greatest players of all time, Ohtani's national hero status just keeps growing. He returns to Japan after collecting his second-straight Major League World Series ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers and his third Most Valuable Player award.

When not physically in the country, his visage looks out from countless billboards advertising everything from tea and rice balls to English conversation schools.

Ohtani's Dodger teammate and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto started for Samurai Japan, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Japan takes on South Korea on Saturday, while Chinese Taipei, now 0-2 after losing to Australia on Thursday, will face Czechia next.

At a season-opening series at the Tokyo Dome last March,