Miami.— Shohei Ohtani came out of the bullpen and fanned out his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out in a matchup the entire baseball world wanted to see, leading Japan over defending champion United States 3 -2 on Tuesday night for his first World Baseball Classic title since 2009.
The star who has wowed fans on two continents, Ohtani hit an infield single in the seventh inning as designated hitter and walked down the left-field line to the Japan bullpen to warm up for his third appearance on the mound of Japan. the tournament. He walked Major League Baseball batting champion Jeff McNeil before Mookie Betts grounded into a double play.
Trout, the US captain and three-time MVP, finished the game by striking out on a full-count breaking ball.
Ohtani hit .435 with one home run, four doubles, eight RBIs and 10 walks as Japan joined the Dominican Republic in 2013 to become the only undefeated champions of baseball’s premier national team tournament. Ohtani went 2-0 with one save and a 1.86 ERA on the mound, striking out 11 in 9 2/3 innings.
