


Shohei Ohtani had another RBI double, 21-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki reached 100 mph 21 times in 66 pitches and Japan beat the Czech Republic 10-2 on Saturday night to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the World Baseball Classic.
Shugo Maki hit his second home run of the tournament and new Boston Red Sox oufielder Masataka Yoshida had three RBIs, including a go-ahead, two-run double in the third inning off loser Ondrej Satoria as the Samurai Warriors overcame a 1-0 deficit.
Ohtani went 1 for 3 with a walk before a crowd of 41,637 in the Tokyo Dome, leaving for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. He is 5 for 10 with three doubles, four RBIs and five walks for Japan (3-0), which has one more group game and will host a quarterfinal on Wednesday or Thursday. He also has pitched four scoreless innings.
Sasaki struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings and got the win. He allowed an unearned run, two hits and two walks.
AUSTRALIA 12, CHINA 2 >> Rixon Wingrove hit a three-run double off loser Xin Qi in the first inning and added an RBI single in a five-run fourth as the Southern Thunder opened a 10-2 lead.
Robbie Glendinning hit his second homer of the tournament, a two-run drive in the fourth against Weiyi Wang.
PANAMA 2, ITALY 0 >> Jose Ramos homered off loser Michele Vassalotti leading off the second inning and scored on Allen Cordoba’s seventh-inning single against Sam Gaviglio. Ramos is hitting .313 (5 for 16).
Winner Harold Araúz allowed two hits in four scoreless innings, and Humberto Mejía, Alberto Baldonado and Guerra finished a five-hitter.
TAIWAN 9, NETHERLANDS 5 >> Yu Chang homered off Derek West after Li Lin’s tying RBI single against loser Lars Huijer. Chang hit a two-run homer in the 11-7 victory over Italy and is 6 for 12 with seven RBIs in the tournament.
Winner Tzu-Peng Huang gave up two runs — one earned — and two hits in 2 2/3 innings.
Didi Gregorius had two RBIs for the Netherlands, including a first-inning RBI single, and Xander Bogaerts went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts and two walks.
PUERTO RICO 9, NICARAGUA 1 >> Francisco Lindor scored twice and hit an RBI single as Puerto Rico won its 2023 WBC debut. Lindor singled and scored in the first inning.
Elian Miranda hit a homer off starter Marcus Stroman in the fifth to tie it at 1. Puerto Rico retook the lead in the bottom half with a five-run inning against JC Ramirez.
diamondbacks’ carroll gets $111 million deal >> Outfielder Corbin Carroll and the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to an $111 million, eight-year contract that also has a club option for the 2031 season, according to a person familiar with the deal. The 22-year-old Carroll is one of baseball’s top prospects and among the betting favorites — according to FanDuel Sportsbook — to win Rookie of the Year this season. Carroll was very good in a late-season cameo last season, batting .260 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 32 games.
Gurriel, Iglesias sign with marlins >> Infielders Yuli Gurriel and José Iglesias agreed to minor league contracts with the Miami Marlins. The 38-year-old Gurriel won his second World Series with the Astros last year after hitting .242 with 40 doubles, eight home runs and 53 RBIs last year, down from 81 RBIs in 2021. In the postseason, Gurriel had 17 hits with a pair of home runs to help the Astros win their second title in six seasons.
Iglesias, 33, batted .292 last season with Colorado and had a .981 fielding percentage as he made 116 starts at shortstop.