Rori Sasaki struck out eight and Japan overpowered the Czech Republic for a 10-2 victory on Saturday within the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo.
Sasaki was dominant, clocking 21 of his 66 complete pitches at or above 100 mph based on the radar gun proven on the TV broadcast.
Japan moved to 3-0 in Pool B and is assured a spot within the quarterfinals.
Pitching on the twelfth anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that claimed the lifetime of his father and grandparents, Sasaki, 21, allowed two hits and one run.
Marek Chlup doubled and scored within the first inning on a fielding error to provide the Czech Republic (1-1) the 1-0 lead.
Japan’s offense, stored off-balance by Ondrej Satoria’s food regimen of off-speed pitches and a fastball that by no means hit 80 mph, lastly broke by with three runs within the third inning.
Shohei Ohtani’s one-out RBI double helped cost a four-run fourth. Ohtani additionally stole third base.
Satoria had 4 strikeouts and left with a memorable memento. He fanned Ohtani, who spun himself to the bottom and misplaced his helmet.
Japan can full an ideal 4-0 run by pool play by beating Australia on Sunday.
–Field Level Media