After falling into an early 3-0 hole against Mexico and trailing by that score for much of the game on Monday, Team Japan finally got up off the mat in the bottom of the seventh inning, as new Boston Red Sox star Masataka Yoshida tied the game with a three-run home run.
Japan fell behind again, but continued to rally and ultimately won the game on Munetaka Murakami’s walk-off double in the ninth.
That sent Japan to the championship game, where they will meet up with Team USA, the reigning champions.
On Twitter, the Red Sox posted a highlight of Yoshida’s home run from several different angles.
Clutch from every angle. pic.twitter.com/oBLpIPVMkM
—Red Sox (@RedSox) March 21, 2023
Murakami may have won the game for Japan, but none of that would have been possible without this towering drive by Yoshida to tie things up.
Seeing it from multiple angles is especially exciting.
The swing was nice and compact, and he certainly put a charge into it.
It seemed to be a hopeless situation for Japan, especially considering that over the past three World Baseball Classics, teams who had traveled across the Pacific Ocean for the semifinals had lost following their journey.
However, Japan broke that trend and are now headed to the championship game.
The Red Sox certainly have to be pleased with what they saw out of Yoshida on Monday night.
Japan had fallen to within seven outs of elimination, but Yoshida picked them up off the mat and turned things around.
And their ninth-inning comeback was the icing on the cake as they eliminated Mexico.
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Newest Red Sox Star Is Making History In March