#119---China v. Japan, 3/5/2009 (World Baseball Classic)

This opening round WBC game saw China play credibly against Japan. The Chinese didn’t manage much in the way of offense, with just five hits (all singles) and a walk, failing to advance a runner to second in the entire game. But they managed to hold Japan down better than they did in 2006 when they were trounced 18-2. This included holding Ichiro 0-5.


Of course there are a number of recognizable names on the Japanese side, but the most interesting is Masahiro Tanaka working in middle relief in the seventh, coming in with two outs and no one on, surrendering a single and then getting a fielder’s choice to get out of it. At this point, Tanaka was just twenty with two fairly average seasons under his belt (albeit as a teenager); he would take a big step forward in this coming season, going 15-6 with a 2.33 ERA, before going beast mode on the Pacific League 2011-2013 (ERA under 2.00 all three seasons with a 43-9 record).