Shohei Ohtani delivered a spectacular performance in Tokyo, hitting a grand slam in Japan's 13-0 mercy-rule victory over Chinese Taipei in Pool C World Baseball Classic action. The two-way star launched his fifth-inning blast off starter Hao-Chun Cheng, capping a 10-run second inning that included Japan batting around and Ohtani collecting three hits and five RBIs.

Japan's dominance extended beyond Ohtani's heroics. The defending WBC champions scored three more runs in the third inning against Tzu-Chen Sha, pushing their lead to 13-0 and triggering the mercy rule after seven innings. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last season's World Series MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers, earned the win despite being pulled after loading the bases in the third inning.

In other Pool C action, Australia defeated Czechia 5-1 behind Curtis Mead's three-run homer. Mead, an infielder with the Chicago White Sox, helped Australia improve to 2-0 in pool play. The Australians, featuring several MLB players including 2024 first-round draft pick Travis Bazzana, reached the quarterfinals in the last WBC but fell to Cuba 4-3.