After weeks of eliminations and player debuts, the World Baseball Classic has reached its final, and it promises a thrilling major event for baseball fans whose love for this game is boundless with USA VS Japan.
With no days off after defeating Mexico, the Japan National Team is set to face the United States Baseball National Team in the final. This final is special because two Anaheim Angels teammates will play on opposing sides. The phenomenal Shohei Ohtani will play the legendary Mike Trout for the World Baseball Classic championship.
Japan has a fantastic team which houses Masataka Yoshida who has been the most industrious player throughout this tournament. Yoshida is 9 for 19 with 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 5 R. These are the most RBI gotten in tournament history, so Ohtani is essentially an addition to an already star-studded team.
Team Japan’s win over Mexico was what brought them face-to-face with Team USA which has also done its fair share of destruction throughout the WBC. The Cuba National Team was their latest victim in a 14-2 match.
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USA VS Japan is happening live at Loan Depot Park, Miami Florida in the World Baseball Classic final.
United States VS Japan: Starting lineups
United States of America: Mookie Bets RF; Mike Trout CF; Paul Goldschmidt 1B; Nolan Arenado 3B; Kyle Schwarber LF; Will Smith C; Pete Alonso DH; Tim Anderson 2B; Trea Turner SS.
Japan: Lars Nootbar CF; Kansuke Kondoh RF; Shohei Ohtani DH; Masataka Yoshida LF; Munetaka Murakami 3B; Kazuma Okamoto 1B; Tetsuto Yamada 2B; Sosuke Genda SS; Yuhei Nakamura C.
In USA VS Japan, Merrill Kelly will pitch for the U.S. as he gets his shot for the finals. Kelly is a righty who plays for D-backs and started during the Pool C finale vs Colombia. He scaled through three innings and allowed two runs on four hits.
For Japan, Shohei Ohtani already said he would not be ready to pitch, so the team may use Shota Imanaga instead as the starting pitcher.
How can fans watch the United States VS Japan?
Fans can watch the match on FS1. They can also live stream it on FoxSports.com, the Fox Sports app, fuboTV or YouTube TV.
The broadcast starts at 7 p.m. ET.
