HAVANA, Cuba, March 23 (acn) Defending champions Japan advanced to a showdown with South Korea in Monday’s 2009 World Baseball Classic final by defeating Team USA on Sunday 9-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Right-handed ace Daisuke Matsuzaka, the 2006 Classic’s Most Valuable Player, improved to 6-0 over the two events, yielding only two runs and striking out four in 4 2/3 innings while four Japanese relievers allowed only two runs the rest of the way.
The Americans had won their four prior games against Japan, two at the Beijing Olympics - including the bronze medal game - plus another at the 2007 World Cup in Taiwan and in the second round of the inaugural 2006 Classic.
Trailing 2-1 entering the fourth inning, Japan struck for five runs to seize command. The Americans, who stranded 10 base runners, responded in the eighth when Mark DeRosa hit a two-run double down the left-field line to lift the US squad within 6-4. But the Japanese answered with three runs in the eighth to seal victory.
Monday's all-Asian title matchup will be Japan’s fifth meeting with their arch-rivals in this Classic, having split four games against the reigning Olympic champions. In this Classic, Japan beat South Korea 14-2 in Tokyo but lost 1-0 in a first-round rematch there. In round two at
San Diego, the Koreans won 4-1 to seal a semi-final spot but lost a rematch for seeding 6-2.
The South Koreans reached the final by ousting a Venezuela major-league all-star lineup 10-2 on Saturday.
(Japón venció a Estados Unidos y hoy defenderá su título)
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