Japan edges USA in WBC final after Ohtani strikes out Trout

MIAMI — All anyone could think and talk about leading up to Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic championship game was the enticing possibility of two-way icon Shohei Ohtani looming on the mound, 60 feet, six inches away from his Los Angeles Angels teammate, three-time MVP Mike Trout.

So, of course, the way it played out was that these two baseball legends, best in the game at what they do, clashed in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and Team USA trailing Samurai Japan by one run. If it didn’t actually happen before our eyes, it would be easier to believe the situation was scripted. The at-bat was, quite simply, the matchup of a lifetime.

Ohtani, the closer, was announced on the loanDepot park PA system and the crowd roared before nearly every single fan in the ballpark stood up to watch the peak of baseball greatness. All at once, “U-S-A” chants broke out. And then it happened. Representing the final out, Trout stepped to the plate.

Slider, fastball, fastball, fastball, fastball.

With the count 3-2, Ohtani went back to his slider, a nasty 87 mph pitch that Trout swung through.

“Whether I got him out or he got a hit off me, I didn’t want to have any regrets, I just wanted to make my best pitch,” Ohtani said afterward through a translator.

His entire sequence completely overmatched the best hitter of the past decade and secured a 3-2 championship win for Japan, the euphoria of the moment prompting Ohtani to lift his arms and throw his hat and glove away.

Japan boasts a record three WBC titles amid the tournament’s five installments, with Tuesday night’s thrilling finish coming just hours after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the WBC will return in 2026.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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