Samurai Japan played its final exhibition tune-ups ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic this past week, defeating the Chunichi Dragons twice before losing to the Orix Buffaloes and taking down the Hanshin Tigers.
The final two games at Kyocera Dome Osaka featured the long-awaited debuts of its Major League Baseball contingent, headlined by Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki, alongside Masataka Yoshida, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Yusei Kikuchi, and Tomoyuki Sugano.
Veteran Sosuke Genda started both games at shortstop, a notable development that hints manager Hirokazu Ibata may be leaning toward him over Kaito Kozono for the WBC opener. The lineup structure also came into focus with Ohtani and Kensuke Kondoh setting the table, Suzuki entrenched in the three-hole, Murakami batting cleanup, and Shugo Maki cemented as the seven spot.
Japan wrapped exhibition play 4-2 overall and now shifts its attention to Pool C at the Tokyo Dome beginning March 6 against Chinese Taipei, Korea, Australia, and Czechia, with a trip to Miami in the quarterfinals awaiting if they advance.
Samurai Japan 5, Chunichi Dragons 3 (Feb. 27, Vantelin Dome Nagoya) — Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) set the tone with three scoreless innings. Teruaki Sato (Tigers) provided the early jolt by crushing a 431-foot, three-run homer off Yuya Yanagi in the first. Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) and Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) had clean relief work before Ryuhei Sotani (Buffaloes) yielded two runs over two frames. Taisei (Giants) exited the ninth with two outs due to a leg cramp, but Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) recorded the final out to close out a 5-3 win.
Samurai Japan 7, Chunichi Dragons 3 (Feb. 28, Vantelin Dome Nagoya) — Reigning Sawamura Award winner Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) surrendered two runs in three innings, but Japan’s bats answered with solo homers from Shugo Maki (BayStars) and Shota Morishita (Tigers). Chihiro Sumida (Lions) allowed a solo shot in relief, but Koki Kitayama (Fighters) fired two shutout innings, and Shoma Fujihira (Eagles) tossed a scoreless frame with two strikeouts. The turning point came in the fifth as Japan erupted for five runs against Mizuki Miura, highlighted by RBI singles from Seishiro Sakamoto (Tigers) and Kaito Kozono (Carp), to pull away for a 7-3 victory.
Orix Buffaloes 4, Samurai Japan 3 (Mar. 2, Kyocera Dome Osaka) — Orix jumped on Yusei Kikuchi (Angels) early, scoring twice on RBI singles from Yutaro Sugimoto and Tomoya Mori, then extending the first-inning damage when Maki’s throw to first sailed wide during a double-play attempt. Kikuchi settled in but still showed some rust over four innings (six hits, three runs), and Orix tacked on an insurance run in the fifth on Yusuke Mugitani’s RBI single off Taneichi. Japan finally broke through on an upper-deck solo homer by Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox) in the fifth, but couldn’t muster much offense otherwise. Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) went 0 for 3. A ninth-inning rally ended when the tying run was thrown out at the plate after Maki’s two-out RBI double, sealing a 4-3 loss.
Samurai Japan 5, Hanshin Tigers 4 (Mar. 3, Kyocera Dome Osaka) — Seiya Suzuki (Cubs) ignited the crowd immediately with a 429-foot leadoff blast to left-center, and Kensuke Kondoh’s (Hawks) RBI single in the third, plus Suzuki’s run-scoring groundout in the sixth, built a 3-0 cushion. Ohtani went hitless again. Pinch-hitting in the seventh, Morishita delivered a two-run single to stretch the lead to five runs. Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons), Yumeto Kanemaru (Dragons), Fujihira, and Taisei kept Hanshin quiet until late. The Tigers made it close with four runs in the eighth against non-roster support player Reia Nakachi, but the Samurai managed to close out a 5-4 victory.
Samurai Japan’s Full 30-man Roster:
DH Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
C Seishiro Sakamoto (Hanshin Tigers)
C Kenya Wakatsuki (Orix Buffaloes)
C Yuhei Nakamura (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
1B Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox)
2B Shugo Maki (Yokohama DeNA BayStars)
3B Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays)
3B Teruaki Sato (Hanshin Tigers)
SS Kaito Kozono (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)
SS Sosuke Genda (Saitama Seibu Lions)
OF Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox)
OF Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs)
OF Shota Morishita (Hanshin Tigers)
OF Ukyo Shuto (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
|OF Kensuke Kondoh (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
UTL Taisei Makihara (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers)
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (Free Agent)
RHP Hiromi Itoh (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
RHP Koki Kitayama (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
RHP Atsuki Taneichi (Chiba Lotte Marines)
RHP Hiroto Takahashi (Chunichi Dragons)
RHP Yuki Matsumoto (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
RHP Taisei (Yomiuri Giants)
RHP Shoma Fujihira (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles)*
LHP Yusei Kikuchi (Los Angeles Angels)
LHP Hiroya Miyagi (Orix Buffaloes)
LHP Ryuhei Sotani (Orix Buffaloes)
LHP Chihiro Sumida (Saitama Seibu Lions)*
LHP Yumeto Kanemaru (Chunichi Dragons)*
*Injury Replacements
