Japan and the United States, who will face each other in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals, have unveiled their starting lineups. While Japan presented the same lineup as in the semifinals, the United States made some changes.
The long-awaited WBC final between Japan and the United States will take place on the 22nd (Korean time) at Londippo Park in Miami, Florida, USA. On the 20th, the USA defeated Cuba 14-2 to advance to the final, and a day later, on the 21st, Japan advanced to the final with a come-from-behind victory over Mexico in the bottom of the 9th inning.
There was a lot of talk바카라, such as a sudden match change, but in the end, the final of this tournament was a match between Japan and the United States, which was the best big match. Japan is aiming for a third championship in its career, while the “defending champion” USA is aiming for a second consecutive championship.
Japan made the same starting lineup as the match against Mexico.
Lars Nutba (center fielder) – Kensuke Kondo (right fielder) – Shohei Otani (designated hitter) – Masataka Yoshida (left fielder) – Munetaka Murakami (third baseman) – Kazuma Okamoto (first baseman) – Tetsuto Yamada (second baseman) – Sōsuke Genda (shortstop) and Yuhei Nakamura (catcher) come out.
The U.S. made some changes to its lineup against Cuba.
Mookie Betts (Right Field) – Mike Trout (Center Field) – Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – Nolan Arenado (3B) – Kyle Schwaber (DH) – Trey Turner (Shortstop) – JT Realmuto (Catcher) – Cedric Mullins (left fielder) and Tim Anderson (2nd baseman) step out.
Turner, who has 4 homers and 10 RBIs in this tournament, was deployed forward from 9th to 6th, Real Muto as catcher, and Mullins as left fielder.
The Japanese starting pitcher is Shota Imana. Originally, Yu Darvish was expected to start, but manager Hideki Kuriyama chose Imanaga, who showed off his strong pitch in the bullpen. As it is the final, all pitchers wait in the bullpen. Japanese media are also predicting Ohtani’s finishing appearance. Depending on the situation, a head-to-head matchup with teammate Trout may occur.
Against this, the U.S. selected Merrill Kelly, who had played in the KBO league, as the starter. On the 16th, Kelly started the match against Group C Colombia in the first round of the finals and recorded 4 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs in 3 innings.