*This content was translated by AI.
The players of the Japanese baseball team are amazing. Key hitter Seiya Suzuki (31, Chicago Cubs) was out of power due to injury, but Shota Morishita (26, Hanshin Tigers), who was put in to fill the gap, immediately launched a home run, reversing the atmosphere.
Suzuki started as the third batter and center fielder in the 2026 WBC quarterfinals against Venezuela at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 15th (Korea time).
Suzuki drew a walk after a close game going to the full count with one out in the bottom of the first inning when the score was 1-1. Next, Yoshida Masataka struck out and became a runner on first base with two outs. He was thrown out while stealing second base at the subsequent Kazuma Okamoto at-bat. It was immediately changed to airlift.
The situation afterwards was a problem. Suzuki felt pain in his right leg after this scene. In the end, he was replaced without playing defense in the top of the second inning. Without Seiya Suzuki, Shota Morishita (25) was urgently put into the center field position. Replacing the third batter, an active major leaguer and center of the team's lineup, at the beginning of the game is close to a fatal loss of power for the Japanese national team.
Just as the Japanese archipelago was about to fall into despair, Shota Morishita, who was put in place of Suzuki, wrote a reversal. Morissita, who maintained a high level of concentration despite the sudden substitution, fired a three-run home run that toppled the Venezuelan mound with one out and runners on the second and third bases at 2-2.
The fact that the replacement immediately hit a decisive home run in the midst of a desperate crisis without core power symbolically showed Japan's thick base of players. In other words, perfect alternative resources were waiting so that even a big outfielder named Seiya Suzuki could not be felt.
Meanwhile, according to multiple Japanese media such as Nikkan Sports, Suzuki injured his leg while sliding during the steal process. Later, there was an announcement of a knee injury at the scene. In particular, Suzuki is a "precious body" who signed a five-year, mega-contract worth $85 million (about 127.4 billion won) with the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2022 season. For the Cubs, who are about to open the season, the injury is like a bolt out of the blue.
In fact, for Suzuki, the WBC is nothing short of a stage of "injury brutality." Suzuki, who also left the 2023 tournament with tears due to a left side injury just before the opening, was trying to recover his pride by swinging a hard hit in the Japanese round of the tournament.
Japan, which lost its core power from the first game of the finals tournament in Miami, USA, is now in a desperate crisis to stop Venezuela's offensive without Suzuki. The Japanese archipelago is paying close attention to the extent of his injury, with the results of the close examination likely to determine whether Suzuki will participate in the rest of the tournament.
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*This content was translated by AI.
