Kyle Schwarber and USA spoil Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic debut

Kyle Schwarber launched a three-run homer, Nolan Arenado had three hits and two RBIs, and the United States overcame a slow start to beat Great Britain 6-2 on Saturday night in the World Baseball Classic opener for both teams.

Trayce Thompson put Britain up 1-0 in the first inning with a homer off Adam Wainwright that just cleared the left-center wall. Thompson – who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers – is one of the few players on Britain’s roster with big league experience.

Thompson’s drive briefly put a damper on the mood for the crowd of 39,650 at Chase Field, but the Americans weren’t down long.

The US grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third and then broke the game open in the fourth on Schwarber’s shot that landed in the stands near the swimming pool that sits behind the right-center fence at Chase Field.

In Tokyo, Shohei Ohtani had another RBI double, 21-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki reached 100mph 21 times in 66 pitches and Japan beat the Czech Republic 10-2 on Saturday night to clinch a quarter-final berth.

Shugo Maki hit his second home run of the tournament and new Boston Red Sox oufielder Masataka Yoshida had three RBIs, including a go-ahead, two-run double in the third inning off loser Ondrej Satoria as the Samurai Warriors overcame a 1-0 deficit.

Ohtani went 1 for 3 with a walk before a crowd of 41,637 in the Tokyo Dome, leaving for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. He is 5 for 10 with three doubles, four RBIs and five walks for Japan (3-0), which has one more group game and will host a quarterfinal on Wednesday or Thursday. He also has pitched four scoreless innings.

Sasaki struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings and got the win. He allowed an unearned run, two hits and two walks.

Sasaki threw the 16th perfect