Tokyo: South Korea blew an early lead and lost to the defending champion Japan 8-6 at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Saturday. South Korea scored three times in the top of the first inning at Tokyo Dome but its pitchers couldn't keep the team in front.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Japan smoked four home runs, including two by Seiya Suzuki. Shohei Ohtani also went deep and scored three times. South Korea struck out 15 times against five Japanese pitchers.
South Korea will next play Chinese Taipei at noon Sunday.