Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan are looking to defend their World Baseball Classic (WBC) title, opening Pool C play against Chinese Taipei on Friday. Winning the tournament in 2023, Japan took home its third WBC crown. Japan went through Team USA in the championship game, with Ohtani striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to secure the final out.
For baseball fans based in the U.S., watching Friday's game will require a late night or early morning, depending who you are. It will air on FS1 in the United States, with first pitch scheduled for 5 a.m. ET. Fans in Japan can watch on Netflix (h/t MLB.com).
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This is a home game for Japan, as the matchup is being hosted at the Tokyo Dome. Team Japan will have its ace on the mound, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher and 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Chinese Taipei will throw Hao-Chun Cheng, who spent time briefly in the Dodgers system when they signed him to a minor league deal in 2019.
Ohtani, the 2023 WBC MVP, is not expected to be a two-way player this year like he was three years ago. Returning to pitching last season after undergoing a second right elbow surgery, he will just hit for Japan in this year's tournament as he and the Dodgers play it smart with his pitching arm.
As for Yamamoto, he was also huge in the 2023 WBC, pitching 7.1 innings and striking out 12 batters while surrendering just two earned runs. He returns to the tournament with much more professional experience under his belt, including last year's historic October in which he made six appearances for the Dodgers, giving up just six earned runs in 37.1 innings pitched.
The heavy favorites to defeat Chinese Taipei on Friday, and potentially even win the tournament again, Team Japan will look to start its WBC title defense with a convincing victory.
