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By Tyler Erzberger
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In the first inning against Chinese Taipei to open up Samurai Japan's defense of the World Baseball Classic crown, Shohei Ohtani bulleted a double to the outfield.
A sold-out, packed Tokyo Dome crowd serenaded the back-to-back World Series champion with applause as he looks to repeat as tournament MVP.
Unfortunately for the crowd, Japan couldn't get Ohtani home after his lead-off double, stranding him on third base.
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In the second inning, however, after they loaded up the bases against Chinese Taipei, Ohtani came to the plate again to see what he could do.
As if it were written like the rest of the storybook career of the unicorn known as Ohtani, the Dodgers' two-way megastar rose to the occasion in front of his home crowd.
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After getting ahead in the count, Ohtani waited for the perfect pitch and then unleashed, launching a ball into the stands for a grand slam to put Japan up 4-0 early in their WBC opener.
Unlike the 2023 tournament, Ohtani can solely focus on hitting in this year's event, as the Dodgers and the reigning National League MVP came to an agreement for him not to pitch.
Although he is still going through his routines and warm-ups with his arm, Ohtani, aiming for a Cy Young this year, won't debut as a pitcher until the Dodgers kick off their regular season at the end of March.
For now, though, Ohtani will do what he does best: amaze the fans and turn the improbable into the inevitable.
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