*This content was translated by AI.
This is the 'war of stars' that baseball fans around the world have been waiting for. When Venezuela's Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves) opened the door, Japan's Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) immediately responded with a fire bat, sending Miami into a frenzy. Both teams' leadoff homers were produced at the same time, which is rare.
The 2026 WBC quarterfinal match was held at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the morning of the 15th (Korea Standard Time). Yamamoto Yoshinobu, who took the starting mound, was not bad in the beginning. However, the opponent was outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., a colleague of Kim Ha-sung (30).
Acuña Jr., who started as a right fielder and first hitter on the day, picked out Yamamoto's first pitch (78.4 mile curve) and hit a four-seam fastball heading to the middle with a ball count of one ball to hit the right-center fence. The ball was fast enough to feel that it was a home run at the moment it hit. The batting speed was 106.2 miles (about 171 kilometers).
But Japan also immediately balanced it. Ohtani, who was the first designated hitter, did not miss the ball of Venezuelan starter Ranger Suarez in his first at-bat when his team was trailing 0-1. Ohtani's ball, which kicked up Suarez's low slider, led to a large solo home run over the middle fence with a launch angle of 24 degrees. Ohtani's batting distance was 427 feet (about 130 meters), which was farther than Acuña Jr.'s.
The game quickly heated up as the two superstars, representing Major League Baseball, exchanged "lead-off home runs." While manager Ibata's "Otani No. 1" hit the mark, Yamamoto, who was shaken by the first run, also laid the groundwork for stabilizing with Ohtani's scoring support.
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*This content was translated by AI.
