first inning

TOKYO — Defending champion Japan hit four home runs — two by Chicago Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki — to beat South Korea 8-6 on Saturday and stay undefeated in Pool C of the World Baseball Classic.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida also homered for Japan. Ohtani’s homer followed his grand slam Friday in a 13-0 win over Chinese Taipei.

Both teams showed more power than pitching, particularly in the first four innings in a slugfest as the two combined for five home runs topped by Suzuki’s pair at the Tokyo Dome.

Japan and Australia are 2-0 in Pool C play and meet Sunday as the two favorites to advance to the quarterfinals. In Sunday’s other game, South Korea (1-1) faces Chinese Taipei (1-2).

South Korea took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning off starter Yusei Kikuchi with consecutive singles by Do Yeong Kim, Jahmai Jones and Jung Hoo Lee and a two-run double by Bo Gyeong Moon.

Suzuki hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to pull Japan back to 3-2.

Japan surged ahead 5-3 in the third on solo home runs by Ohtani, Suzuki and Yoshida.

South Korea played its own home-run derby in the top of the fourth, drawing even 5-5 on Hyeseong Kim’s two-run homer off Japan’s second pitcher, Hiromi Itoh. It was the fifth home run between the two teams through four innings.

Japan broke through in the seventh to lead 8-5. Young Kyu Kim, who entered in relief earlier in the inning, walked Suzuki with the bases loaded to force in a run, and Yoshida followed with a single to score two more.

The Koreans scored one in the eighth to make it 8-6 but left the bases loaded when Yuki Matsumoto struck out Hyeseong Kim.

Atsuki Taneichi was the winning pitcher with a save for Taisei Ota. Yeong Hyun Park took the loss.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was at the game on Saturday. On Friday, actor Timothée Chalamet and pop singer Bad Bunny showed up.

Fairchild’s grand slam powers Chinese Taipei to 14-0 win

Stuart Fairchild’s second-inning grand slam powered Chinese Taipei to a 14-0 victory over the winless Czech Republic.

The victory was Chinese Taipei’s first in the tournament and came the day after it was pounded 13-0 by Japan.

The game was stopped by the mercy rule with Chinese Taipei leading by 10 or more after seven innings.

Chinese Taipei played small ball for a 2-0 lead in the first inning, capitalizing on two bunt singles, a double steal and a throwing error by Czech catcher Martin Cervenka. They were Chinese Taipei’s first two runs of the tournament.

It was big ball in the second inning.

With two out, Czech pitcher Jan Novak gave up a single and walked two, setting the stage for Fairchild’s blast.

Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang got the victory and Novak was the losing pitcher.

Chinese Taipei added two more runs in the fourth, another in the fifth and five in the sixth. They also set a WBC tournament record with seven stolen bases.

Fairchild, who qualified for the team through his Taiwanese mother, plays in the Cleveland Guardians organization.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Roki Sasaki’s struggles from his first Cactus League start carried over into Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians at Goodyear Ballpark.

The Dodgers right-hander gave up three walks and two hits, including a grand slam to Guardians slugger Kyle Manzardo, before he was lifted after 23 pitches. He displayed no command, missing arm side repeatedly and throwing only eight strikes. None of the five batters he faced in the first inning saw a first-pitch strike.

But then, he flashed the tantalizing potential that the Dodgers saw when they signed him before last season.

Re-inserted into the game to start the second inning, which is allowed in spring training, the 24-year-old settled down and retired all six batters he faced in his last two innings of work while throwing 22 pitches — 13 for strikes — in the Dodgers’ 5-4 win.

Working in a healthy mix of fastballs, cutters and splitters, Sasaki struck out two and was able to limit hard contact, which had been an issue for him in the first inning and in his first start last week against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The home run by Manzardo recorded an exit velocity of 104.6 mph.

“I wasn’t overly concerned,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But it was good to see him bounce back.”

Sasaki said through an interpreter after he was lifted from the game that something felt off about his upper-body mechanics. He made a simple adjustment and found success in it.

“It was actually my upper body,” Sasaki said. “My lower half actually felt pretty good. My upper body felt a little off, so I was trying to make an adjustment.”

Said Roberts when asked about Sasaki missing arm side: “Maybe he’s trying to be a little too fine and/or just a little bit out of sync with the delivery. That’s why you have spring training, you work though it, you’ve got to be able to make in-game adjustments. As he gets more experienced, you would expect that to happen in the inning rather than sit for 20 minutes, come in and reset.”

It will be two Marmonte League baseball rivals matching up in the Easton tournament championship game at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Birmingham.

Pitchers Connor Sahagan and Gavin Geyer combined on a no-hitter in Oaks Christian’s 2-1 win over Bishop Alemany. Luke Puls hit two doubles, including a two-run double in the fifth inning. Geyer struck out five and retired all nine batters in order in three innings of relief.

Oaks Christian (4-0) will play Calabasas (4-0), a 4-2 winner over St. Francis. Auron Blackledge had three hits and Michael Morales got the save with two scoreless innings of relief. Jayden Singer had two hits. Lucas Becerra had three hits for St. Francis.

Chaparral 19, Knight 4: Dean Mariani contributed four hits and three RBIs while Griffin Fien had three hits and three RBIs.

Camarillo 3, Valencia 1: Ryan Coyne gave up two hits in a complete-game performance for Camarillo.

Corona Santiago 3, Los Alamitos 2: Striker Pence, Johnny Thorton and Josh Angulo each had two hits for Santiago. Jerry Garfiaz homered for Los Alamitos.

El Camino Real 3, Rio Mesa 2: Cameron Rosenberg threw his first complete game in varsity baseball, striking out five for the Royals. Football standout Shane Bogacz had a two-run triple.

Granada Hills 14, Ventura 3: Michael Quintana had two hits and three RBIs for the Highlanders.

San Marcos 7, Simi Valley 2: Mason Crang hit a three-run home run in the first inning for San Marcos.

Birmingham 4, Agoura 3: The Patriots rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Ethan Dalumpines had the walk-off hit. Carlos Acuna struck out seven and gave up two hits in six innings.

Verdugo Hills 2, Garfield 0: Michael Wong had a two-run single while Jack Iafrate and Jared Smith combined on a three-hit shutout.

Paraclete 10, Cleveland 3: Christian Saenz had three hits and four RBIs while Gabe Villanueva went four for four to lead Paraclete.

Quartz Hill 18, Chatsworth 3: Seth Humphreys had two doubles, a single and three RBIs for Quartz Hill.

Thousand Oaks 2, Mira Costa 1: Dane Bacon threw three innings of scoreless relief to hand a rare defeat to Mira Costa ace Garrett Jacobs, who struck out 10 and walked none in six innings.

Fullerton 7, Northwood 1: Sammy Chacon finished with three hits for 3-0 Fullerton.

Hart 7, Buena 6: Jaiden Chan contributed three hits for Hart.

Taft 10, Palisades 8: The Toreadors scored six runs in the seventh, then hung on for the win. Josh Friedman had two hits and two RBIs.

TEMPE, Ariz. — Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto toed the rubber Saturday for the team’s Cactus League opener against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium with the expectation that it would be his only start before joining Team Japan for next month’s World Baseball Classic.

Even manager Dave Roberts believed that was the case as he came out to lift his star pitcher with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.

“Doc came to the mound, and he said, ‘Good luck in the WBC,’” Yamamoto said via interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “But actually, I have one more game to pitch.”

After giving up one earned run, three hits and striking out three in his 30-pitch outing, Yamamoto said he believes his next start will be on Friday against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium.

Yamamoto cruised through the first inning, striking out third baseman Yoan Moncado swinging and getting shortstop Zach Neto to look at a called strike three on a darting sinker.

But then the Dodgers, who had scored three runs in the top of the first, sent 11 men to the plate, scoring six runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in a half-inning that took nearly 30 minutes. Yamamoto believes the long break between innings may have disrupted his workflow, contributing to a messy second inning.

A dropped fly ball on the warning track in left field by Teoscar Hernández spelled trouble for Yamamoto, scoring a run and allowing Jo Adell to reach second base with nobody out. Yamamoto struck out the next hitter, getting left fielder Josh Lowe to swing through a splitter, before allowing back-to-back outfield line drives to catcher Logan O’Hoppe and second baseman Christian Moore. After Bryce Teodosio flied out for the second out of the inning, Yamamoto’s day was done.

Yamamoto reached into his five-pitch repertoire Saturday, mixing in six fastballs, eight splitters, five sinkers, four cutters, four curveballs and three sliders. His fastball sat between 91 and 93 mph, topping out at 94.9 mph.

“I was looking for some stuff I needed to get back before I go back to Japan and join the team,” Yamamoto said. “I was looking forward to the feeling, the delivery and those things.”

Fans pack Diablo Stadium for Saturday’s game between the Angels and Dodgers.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

He added: “Yesterday’s practice, I was already feeling good. And then, somehow I was able to carry that to today’s game, especially the first inning. I think I was great, but due to the gap between innings, that affected me a little bit.”

With Yamamoto’s time being limited with the Dodgers before the WBC, Roberts spoke pregame Saturday about what he hopes to see from his star pitcher in the time leading up to the event.

“I think that obviously, him going and pitching for Team Japan, he’s going to be trying to ramp it up and get prepared,” Roberts said. “So, I think it’s just more of what he does [on] strike one, [how he] uses secondaries, and be efficient and get some outs.”

Though Yamamoto will pitch once more before leaving for the WBC, Roberts told reporters that he isn’t concerned about the WBC interrupting Yamamoto’s preparation for the regular season.

“I think I’m confident because there’s no exact science on ramping up early and success, or being methodical and not participating to result in success during the season,” Roberts said. “There’s just no exact science. For me, and for all of us, you’re just believing in the player, knowing that he knows what it takes to be ready for a season and he takes care of himself, so I think for me, it’s an easy way to think and wrap my head around, just kind of believing in him, trusting him.”

Etc.

Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernandez hugs Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after scoring in the first inning.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Just over a week into camp, utilityman Hyeseong Kim has already made a strong first impression, as he vies for more playing time in his second season. On Saturday, he went two for three with three RBIs to help spark the Dodgers’ offensive outburst. Elsewhere, the top three hitters in the lineup — Shohei Ohtani, Hernández and Andy Pages — combined for six hits in nine at-bats with two RBIs. … The Dodgers claimed outfielder Jack Suwinski from the Pittsburgh Pirates. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred utilityman Kiké Hernández to the 60-day injured list.