Pool Play Record: 4-0
Pool Play Run Differential: Plus-32
Quarterfinal Matchup: Beat Italy, 9-3
We had Japan ranked as the third-best team in the World Baseball Classic at the outset, while others had it as high as No. 2. It's thus not exactly surprising that it has made it as far as the quarterfinals.
But the way in which it did so...holy smokes.
Japan's average margin of victory as it ran the table in Pool B was eight runs, and that was basically equal parts great offense (i.e., 1.001 OPS) and great pitching (i.e., 1.50 ERA and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings). It helps when you have the best baseball player in the world to contribute on both fronts, and Shohei Ohtani surely did so to earn MVP honors.
Pool play also served as a sort of coming-out party for St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar. He hit .429 with a pair of stolen bases, but it was as much with his glove and his pepper grinder celebration that he endeared himself to seamheads the world over.
As to other standouts, five of Kensuke Kondoh's seven hits went for extra bases, and Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto each struck out eight batters in their respective starts. Sasaki, in particular, looked like a nightmare as he chucked triple-digit fastballs and low-90s splitters at hitters.
Kazuma Okamoto added his name to the star parade against Italy on Thursday, driving home five of Japan's nine runs. It's now on to the semifinals, where Japan will face perhaps its toughest test yet: a long flight from Tokyo to Miami, Florida.
