◇ "2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC™" First Round vs. South Korea (7th, Tokyo Dome)

In stark contrast to the previous day's comfortable victory, the much-anticipated Japan-Korea match turned into a battle of points. Of Japan's eight points, five were Home Run by major leaguers.

After allowing a three-run lead in the first inning, the team was trailing in the bottom of the first inning. Shohei Ohtani, the first batter, reached base on Walk, and with one out and a runner on second, Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run home run to close the gap to one run. Then, in the bottom of the third inning, Ohtani hit his second consecutive home run to tie the game. Then, with two outs, Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida hit home runs in succession, giving the team a five-run advantage.

Immediately after that, in the top of the fourth inning, Kim Hye-seong hit a two-run home run to tie the game again, but in the bottom of the seventh, a walk with Walk and a two-run RBI hit by Yoshida gave Japan a three-run lead. In the top of the eighth inning, pitcher Yuki Matsumoto gave up a run, but in the top of the ninth, with a two-run lead, pitcher Ose retired all three batters, giving Japan an 8-6 victory and their second consecutive win.