United States Japan
Submarine right-hander Rei Takahashi was unable to locate his fastball and lacked good movement on his sinker as he surrendered two runs on four hits and two walks over four innings at Tokyo Dome.
Japan climbed back to within a run in the eighth inning, but Orix Buffaloes right-hander Brandon Dickson shut down Samurai Japan in the ninth. Dickson, a starter through his first six Pacific League seasons, saved 18 games after being inserted into the closer’s role midway through the season. Dickson struck out the first two batters before ending it with a ground out.
The loss was Japan’s first of the tournament. Super round teams entered with the result of their previous game against the other team from their group. So Japan’s loss left them with a 2-1 record.
Seiya Suzuki, who entered having homered in Japan’s three previous games, tripled and scored on a Hideto Asamura single in the fourth, reached on an error and scored from first in the sixth on an Asamura double. The pair brought Japan within a run in the eighth when he doubled and scored on Asamura’s single. The RBI hat-trick came on Asamura’s 29th birthday.
Pinch-runner Ukyo Shuto, the hero of Monday’s come-from-behind win over Australia was stranded after a stolen base and a wild pitch.
The U.S. opened the scoring in the second when Alec Bohm doubled and scored from third when Asamura failed to gun him down at the plate to complete a 3-2 double play. Doubles by Conner Chatham and Robert Dalbec made it 2-0 in the third.
Mark Payton doubled and scored in the fifth on singles by Jordon Adell and Bohm against right-hander Taisuke Yamaoka. Adell homered off lefty Yudai Ono in the seventh to make it 4-2.
Mexico 3, Australia 0
Mexico’s bullpen did not allow a hit or a walk over four innings in relief of starter Eduardo Vera, while Jonathon Jones and Matt Clark, who played here for the Chunichi Dragons and Buffaloes homered at Tokyo Dome.
The win lifted Mexico to top of the super round with a 3-0 record, followed by Japan and South Korea, other two group-stage winners, at 2-1 following their first losses. Taiwan and the United States, who entered the super round with a loss, both improved to 1-2, while Australia is 0-3.
Taiwan 7, South Korea 0
Buffaloes right-hander Chang Yi scattered four hits and four walks over 6-2/3 innings, and Lotte Marines lefty Chen Kuan-yu kept South Korea scoreless through eight at Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium in its first loss of the tournament.
A Kao Yu-chieh RBI double opened the scoring in the second and he came home on a Hu Chin-lung single. Taiwan put the game out of reach on Chen Chun-hsiu’s three-run seventh-inning home run.
