Shohei Ohtani strikes out Angels teammate Mike Trout to give Japan World Baseball Classic title over USA

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Japan baseball rules the world once again.

The Japanese won their third World Baseball Classic (out of five tournaments since the inaugural in 2006), taking down the United States, 3-2.

The game was a classic all night, and it ended in such a storybook way.

Everyone wondered if Shohei Ohtani would pitch. Well, he got the ball in the ninth for the save opportunity to clinch the Classic - while he had already been 1-for-3 with a walk - and he was due to face defending NL batting champion Jeff McNeil, 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, and his Los Angeles Angels teammate, three-time AL MVP Mike Trout.

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Shohei Ohtani #16 of Team Japan reacts after the final out of the World Baseball Classic Championship defeating Team USA 3-2 at loanDepot park on March 21, 2023, in Miami, Florida.  (Eric Espada/Getty Images)

It was Ohtani's first relief appearance since 2016, and it didn't start off hot as he walked McNeil to lead off the inning and put the lead run at the plate. Bobby Witt Jr. pinch-ran, but it was moot as Betts grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

Up came Trout, the matchup the entire baseball world hoped for all day long, and Ohtani was clearly ramped for it - he dialed a fastball up to 102 mph.

Ultimately, Ohtani won the battle, getting Trout to whiff on a 3-2 slider, giving Japan the World Baseball Classic trophy.

The game started out in the U.S' favor, as Trea Turner continued to put the country on his back, blasting a solo homer in the second to put the U.S up 1-0 – but the joy for the red, white, and blue was short-lived. He hit five homers in seven games throughout the tournament.

In the