MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani walked off the infield after Japan’s World Baseball Classic ended, just like three years ago, only the final out could not have been more different.
Ohtani triumphantly tossed his glove and cap in 2023, then stretched his arms wide as teammates mobbed him when he struck out Mike Trout to end a 3-2 win over the U.S. that finished Japan’s third WBC title.
On Saturday night, baseball's best player jogged across the very same loanDepot park diamond to Japan’s bench after his infield popup sealed an 8-5 quarterfinal loss to Venezuela. He dejectedly detached his batting gloves, took off his helmet and headed down the dugout steps past shocked teammates who leaned on the railing and stared at the celebrating Venezuelans.
“I was really disappointed,” Ohtani said.
Japan, international baseball's preeminent power, had won 11 straight WBC games dating to a 2017 semifinal loss to the U.S. and had reached the semis in all five previous WBCs. It is the only nation to win two in a row, in 2006 and 2009. Japan also beat the U.S. in the gold medal game at the last Olympic baseball tournament when the Samurai Warriors hosted in 2021.
After Ronald Acuña Jr.’s stunning leadoff homer in the first off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani matched the feat by going deep starting the bottom half against Ranger Suárez.
Shota Morishita, who entered after Seiya Suzuki got hurt in the first inning, put Japan ahead 5-2 with a three-run homer in the third. It appeared a Monday semifinal against upstart Italy was likely to determine who would play the U.S. or the Dominican Republic for the title the following night.
But Chihiro Sumida gave up Maikel Garcia’s two-run homer in the fifth, sparking the Venezuelans in the first base dugout and fans in the crowd of 34,548 that largely favored the South Americans.
Then Hiromi Itoh allowed Wilyer Abreu’s three-run drive in the sixth that put La Vinotinto ahead 7-5, and Atsuki Taneichi’s wild pickoff throw in the eighth brought in another run.
Ohtani was intentionally walked ahead of Morishita's homer, but didn't come through in his final three plate appearances, striking out in the fourth and seventh innings before making the final out in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Japan had a solid foundation, bringing back about half its 2023 WBC roster.
Ohtani and Yamamoto last year helped the Los Angeles Dodgers become Major League Baseball's first repeat World Series champion in a quarter-century, with Ohtani earning a fourth MVP award and Yamamoto selected World Series MVP.
But Japan was without Roki Sasaki, the hard-throwing pitcher who remained with the Dodgers at spring training after an injury interrupted rookie season. And Ohtani was only a hitter and not a two-way star, being careful with his pitching arm after returning last year from a second major elbow operation.
Ohtani led Japanese batters with a .462 average, three homers and seven RBIs. But the Warriors finished with a .284 batting average, down from .299 three years ago, and a 3.35 ERA, up from a tournament-best 2.29.
“We didn’t have an option for Ohtani to pitch from the middle of the game,” Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata said.
“Of course, I would have wanted him," Ibata added, "but I didn’t have a choice.”
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Japan's Seiya Suzuki is helped off the field after being injured at second base at the with the first inning during a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Venezuela, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Japan team line up to greet three fans after after a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Venezuela, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Japan's Shohei Ohtani reacts after fly out during the ninth inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Japan, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Adam Scott officially is set for his 100th consecutive major next month in the U.S. Open, which added 24 players to the field from the world ranking on Monday. Sixteen players also earned spots at qualifiers in England and Dallas.
Scott effectively secured his spot among the top 60 in the world with a tie for fourth in the Cadillac Championship at Doral. He is at No. 49 in this week's ranking, which the U.S. Open uses to determine who avoids qualifying.
Others exempt through the top 60 in the world ranking include Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Alex Smalley, who tied for second in the PGA Championship to move up 36 spots to No. 42.
Matti Schmid, who had the lead during the final round of the PGA Championship and wound up in a tie for fourth, earned one of five exemptions awarded to leading players in the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour who were not already exempt.
The exemptions finalized Monday meant 70 players in the 156-man field will be forced to qualify, an unusually low number for a major that prefers that roughly half the field go through qualifying. The U.S. Open is June 18-21 at Shinnecock on New York's Long Island.
Adding to the field Monday were two final qualifying events.
Nathan Kimsey of England had a 62 in his second round at Walton Heath to earn one of seven spots out of England. He will be making his U.S. Open debut.
Kimsey was joined by Rocco Repetto Taylor, Filippo Celli, Matthew Jordan, Angel Hidalgo, Niklas Norgaard and Ugo Coussaud, who earned the final spot in a 4-for-1 playoff.
Thomas Detry ended nine days of U.S. Open misfortune by losing out in England playoff, and missing out in the bid for two alternate spots.
Detry was set to earn an exemption from LIV Golf until Lucas Herbert won in Virginia on May 10. He was at No. 61 in the world going into the PGA Championship but missed a 12-foot birdie putt on his final hole to miss the cut by one shot. And then he flew to London.
All is not lost. Detry still has two tournaments — the Soudal Open this week in his native Belgium and LIV Golf Korea the following week — to move into the top 60 before the final cutoff for the world ranking on June 14.
The Dallas qualifier — the first of 11 to be held in North America over the next month — featured Sergio Garcia among 14 players from LIV Golf.
LIV's Peter Uihlein won the qualifier and was one of three LIV players to get through, joined by 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Caleb Surratt. McDowell who will play in the championship for the first time since 2020, the last year of his exemption for winning at Pebble Beach a decade earlier.
Garcia fell two shots short of a six-way playoff for the last spot, won by Surratt. The other players to qualify at Dallas Athletic Club were Tom Kim, Cooper Dossey, Manav Shah, Jimmy Stanger, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and TK Kim.
Scott's streak began with the 2001 British Open, and he has not missed a major since, even going through U.S. Open qualifying when he wasn't exempt. It's the longest streak since Jack Nicklaus played in 146 in a row, from the 1962 Masters through the 1998 U.S. Open.
Scott's one close call was breaking a bone in his hand before the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but he played — grouped with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the opening two rounds — and tied for 26th that week.
“I would rather win some stuff, and let’s celebrate winning the U.S. Open than just playing in it,” Scott said three weeks ago. “I can give myself a pat on the back for hanging in there and playing all these events. I think there’s some luck in it, but I think I’ve had generally great advice around me from a physical and training standpoint that’s kept me healthy and pretty much injury-free.”
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Alex Smalley hits from the fourth tee during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Matti Schmid, of Germany, hits from the bunker on the 13th green during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Adam Scott, of Australia, looks at his ball on the 10th green during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
