Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. combine for first WBC game with two leadoff home runs

Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. combine for first WBC game with two leadoff home runs

Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. got the World Baseball Classic quarterfinal off to a pulsating start, combining for the first WBC game with two leadoff homers.

4 Takeaways From Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic Quarterfinal Win Over Japan

LoanDepot Park (Miami) – The Venezuelans did it. They actually did it. Sparked by Ronald Acuña Jr.’s electric leadoff at-bat, the rest of Venezuela's stacked roster was not going to rest until it ended Japan’s title defense. It was always going to take a team effort to dethrone the Samurai and their intimidating championship pedigree. It was always going to be a highly competitive matchup, and boy, did it deliver. Japan, try as they might, could…

Ohtani launches deep homer to lead off for Japan

Watch as Japan’s Shohei Ohtani leads off the bottom of the first with a deep home run over the centre-field wall, tying the game at one apiece against Venezuela in World Baseball Classic quarterfinal action.

What a start! Acuña, Ohtani trade leadoff homers in Classic quarterfinals

Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Ronald Acuña Jr: This is the platonic ideal of the World Baseball Classic. With a nearly packed crowd at Miami’s loanDepot park, the game started with the reigning World Series MVP Award winner taking on the 2023 NL MVP Award winner, each playing with their country’s name