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Shohei Ohtani — who else? — closes Japan’s World Baseball Classic final win, strikes out Trout

Shohei Ohtani took his time making his way to the mound. The anticipation had been building for innings before this, with the two-way superstar jogging from the dugout to the bullpen and back again — even taking an at-bat and legging out an infield single in between for good measure — before the time finally arrived.

The World Baseball Classic final. Ninth inning. A one-run game. And if all worked out — and it did — a matchup with his superstar MLB teammate to end it.

The stage was his. The moment was his.

And Ohtani, as he almost always does, owned it.

The 28-year-old phenom pitched a scoreless ninth inning to cap Japan’s 3-2 win over the United States and secure Japan’s third World Baseball Classic title and first since winning the first two tournaments in 2006 and 2009.

Most of Japan’s players were standing on the railing as Ohtani threw his final pitch, an 87.2 mph sweeper, that his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout swung and missed on with a full count for the game-ending strikeout.

“I’ve played with him for several years now. I’ve seen him the most. I’ve hit next to him in the lineup,” Ohtani said via an interpreter on the FS1 broadcast. “I’m the one that probably knows how great he is — not only as a person but as a baseball player. I had to give my best to get him out.”

Japan pitcher Shohei Ohtani (16) throws to strike out USA outfielder Mike Trout (27) in the 9th to defeat the United States during the World Baseball Classic Championship Game at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Japan pitcher Shohei Ohtani (16) throws to strike out USA outfielder Mike Trout (27) in the 9th to defeat the United States during the World Baseball Classic Championship Game at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Before that, Ohtani worked around a leadoff walk to Jeff McNeil by getting Mookie Betts to ground into a double play to set up the Ohtani-Trout finish.

“I was not expecting him to be literally the last batter of the game,” Ohtani said. “I thought it was a possibility but I can’t believe he was the last batter of the game.”

Ohtani and Trout have been teammates with the Los Angeles Angles for the past five seasons, ever since Ohtani entered the big leagues in 2018. Trout had never faced Ohtani before but welcomed the challenge.

And it came in the game’s biggest and final spot.

Trout took a low sweeper for Ball 1 before whiffing on a 100 mph four-seam fastball to even the count at 1-1. He held off on a 99.8 mph four-seam fastball outside the zone before missing a 99.8 mph four-seam fastball over the heart of the plate. 2-2.

Ohtani’s fifth pitch, a 101.6 mph four-seam fastball, skipped past the catcher for a full-count.

And then, the game-ending sweeper.

“I can’t even imagine being in that moment, the two best players on the planet locking horns as teammates in that spot,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “The fans won tonight.”

Trout added: “He won Round 1,” Trout said, followed by a laugh. “You can’t take anything away from him. Just to be able to come out of the bullpen as a starter, it was Sho Time.”

Japan pitcher Shohei Ohtani (16) and catcher Yuhei Nakamura (27) celebrate on the field with teammates after defeating the United States during the World Baseball Classic Championship Game at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Japan pitcher Shohei Ohtani (16) and catcher Yuhei Nakamura (27) celebrate on the field with teammates after defeating the United States during the World Baseball Classic Championship Game at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

It was the perfect finish for Ohtani, who was named the World Baseball Classic’s Most Valuable Player after finishing the tournament. He hit .435 with a .606 on-base percentage and .739 slugging mark to go along with eight RBI, a home run, four doubles and nine runs scored — including the game-tying run on Munetaka Murakami’s walk-off double against Mexico to send Japan to the championship game.

On the mound, Ohtani posted a 1.86 ERA, giving up just two runs over 9 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts — including that all-important strikeout of Trout.

“What blows me away on the stage is the fact that he seems like no moment’s too big for him,” DeRosa said. “He did not seem like rattled by walking Jeff McNeil on a close pitch down, not rattled that Mookie. ... I’ve analyzed him for years, since he’s come over here. What he’s doing in the game is what probably 90 percent of the guys in that clubhouse did in Little League or in youth tournaments, and he’s able to pull it off on the biggest stages. He is a unicorn to the sport. I think other guys will try it, but I don’t think they’re going to do it to his level.”

But Ohtani’s ninth-inning relief appearance wasn’t without a tease.

He made his way to the bullpen in the sixth inning, jogging down the third-base line from the dugout to get situated ... only to return to the dugout as Japan sent six batters to the plate and his spot in the lineup creeping up.

Ohtani went back to the bullpen in the top of the seventh only to return for the home half of the inning when he was due to hit second. All he did was leg out an single on a groundball hit into the shift on the right side of the infield.

After the inning ended, Ohtani made his way back to the bullpen one last time before, finally, taking the stroll to the mound for the ninth inning. Ohtani has never pitched in relief during his five MLB season but did do so four times while playing in Nippon Professional Baseball. His most recent before that was Oct. 16, 2016, when he recorded the save in a playoff series clincher to advance to the Japan Series.

On Tuesday, he was asked to do it again, on the latest big stage of his still evolving career.

The stage was his. The moment was his.

And Ohtani, as he almost always does, owned it.