Shohei Ohtani Hits Grand Slam, Makes WBC History as Japan Beats Chinese Taipei via Mercy Rule

Japan’s quest to defend its World Baseball Classic title is off to a great start thanks in no small part to Shohei Ohtani’s historic performance in Friday’s 13-0- win over Chinese Taipei.

Ohtani got the scoring started with a grand slam as part of his five RBI second inning. He later drove in a run with a two-out single in the frame.

Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Ohtani is the first player in WBC history with five RBI in a single inning.

Since the WBC employs a mercy rule during pool play and the quarterfinals, Japan only needed seven innings to finish off its win over Chinese Taipei. Ohtani went 3-for-4 with five RBI and a run scored before Teruaki Sato pinch-hit for him in the seventh with the game in control.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto got the start on the mound for Japan. The 2025 World Series MVP didn’t have his best stuff with three walks and two strikeouts in 2.2 innings, but he worked around it by not allowing a hit before being removed after throwing 53 pitches.

The 13-run win for Japan is the largest margin of victory for a team in the WBC since South Korea’s 22-2 win over China in pool play on March 19, 2023.

Next up for Japan is a matchup with South Korea on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.