Baseball-Samurai Japan top gutsy Czech team on way to WBC playoffs

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