What a baseball game!
On Monday, Japan bested Mexico 6-5 in the World Baseball Classic semifinal after Munetaka Murakami hit a walk-off double to stun the LoanDepot Park crowd. Japan entered the ninth inning down 5-4 to Mexico when Shohei Ohtani hit a lead off double to get the rally started.
Masataka Yoshida then walked to put runners on first and second with no outs and Murakami up to bat. On a 1-1 count, Murakami skied the ball to deep center field, over the head of Alek Thomas and off the wall. And from there, history was made for the first walk off in the semifinals in World Baseball Classic history.
JAPAN WALKS IT OFF! JAPAN WALKS IT OFF! 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/K5VBlpIyTC
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 21, 2023
What a moment for Murakami, who struck out three times in the semifinal but came up clutch when it mattered most. Japan now advances to the World Baseball Classic final against the United States, set to be played Tuesday night.
