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Japan Dominates China in Inaugural Game
Topic Started: Friday Mar 3 2006, 09:27 AM (269 Views)
WeatherManNX01
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The Yanks are coming!

From ESPN:
Quote:
 
Ichiro 1-for-6 as Japan beats China 18-2
Associated Press

TOKYO --
Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Kosuke Fukudome hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning Friday to lead Japan to an 18-2 rout of China in the World Baseball Classic.

Seattle Mariners slugger Ichiro Suzuki, the only position player from the major leagues representing Japan, went 1-for-6 with 1 RBI. Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox infielder Tadahito Iguchi opted to sit out the tournament.

China tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth at Tokyo Dome on a two-run homer by catcher Wang Wei that just cleared the wall in right field. Playing before a crowd of 15,869, Japan quickly regained the lead in the fifth inning and never looked back.

Nishioka connected for a three-run homer to left and Fukudome followed with a solo shot to right that gave Japan a 6-2 lead.

"With runners at first and third, I was just thinking of laying down a bunt to get the run in," said Nishioka, who plays for the Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines. "I'm not a home run hitter, so I surprised myself and it was a great feeling."

Japan starter Koji Uehara went the maximum 65 pitches and gave up two runs on seven hits over five innings while striking out six for the win.

Hitoshi Tamura added a two-run homer in top of the seventh to make it 11-2.

Suzuki drove in a run in the top of the third on a ground out to second that scored Tomoya Satozaki and gave Japan a 2-0 lead. He widened Japan's lead to 12-2 in the top of the eighth when his deep fly ball to center was dropped by China's Sun Lingfeng for an error.

The game was called after eight innings under the tournament's mercy rule.

All Group A games are being played in Japan. The top two teams will advance to the second round in Anaheim, Calif., where they will face the top two teams from Group B, which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico and South Africa.

Japan is favored to advance to the next round and will face Taiwan in its second game on Saturday. South Korea defeated Taiwan 2-0 in Friday's opening game.
Ouch.
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PSUSyr5
The Board Idiot

I find it a little strange that group A is the only one currently playing games while the other 3 start after A ends. Seems a little unfair.
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WeatherManNX01
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The Yanks are coming!

sre141
Mar 3 2006, 09:31 AM
I find it a little strange that group A is the only one currently playing games while the other 3 start after A ends. Seems a little unfair.

It was set up this way to accomadate the travel requirements. Pool A plays its first round in Tokyo, while the other pools play in the US and Puerto Rico. The first round was set up so that the Pool A winners would have time to travel to the US/Puerto Rico for the next round.

World Baseball Classic
 
The World Baseball Classic will take place over an 18-day period (14 days for teams outside the Asia pool). To allow time for travel, the Round 1 Asia pool will begin on Friday, March 3* with the remaining three Round 1 pools beginning play on Tuesday, March 7. Both Round 2 pools will begin play on Sunday, March 12. Both Semi-Final games will be played on Saturday, March 18 and the Final will be held on Monday, March 20.
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PSUSyr5
The Board Idiot

Since when did it take a week to travel from Japan to the US and Puerto Rico (which is a part of the US by the way)?
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