Team Japan and I must have been on the same page. The team did pretty much everything I wanted to see and beat Cuba 5-0 to advance to the semifinals. They drew walks, put the ball in play, advanced runners and were more aggressive on the basepaths — Akinori Iwamura scoring from second on a single was a particulary gutsy play. The only play I had a problem with was third base coach Nobuhiro Takashiro holding Norichika Aoki at third on Atsunori Inaba’s double when he easily could have scored. The score was 0-0 at that point and it was looking like it would be a close game. Takashiro was absolved when Aoki and Inaba scored on an error by the center fielder two batters later, and Japan was more aggressive from that point forward.
And of course, Hisashi Iwakuma and Toshiya Sugiuchi combined for a gem of a game.
I’ll be hosting another live chat for tonight’s game against Korea. All are welcome for another night of talkin’ baseball.
Topics: Akinori Iwamura, Atsunori Inaba, Hisashi Iwakuma, Nobuhiro Takashiro, Norichika Aoki, Toshiya Sugiuchi
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