Shohei Ohtani’s Grand Slam in WBC Opener Sends Fans into Frenzy: “He’s an Absolute Monster”

Shohei Ohtani went 3-for-4 in Team Japan's WBC opener against Chinese Taipei and stole the show once again with a grand slam in the second inning.

Shohei Ohtani’s Grand Slam in WBC Opener Sends Fans into Frenzy: “He’s an Absolute Monster”

Shohei Ohtani (Image via NY Post/MLB)

Shohei Ohtani is inevitable. During Team Japan’s World Baseball Classic opener against Chinese Taipei at Tokyo Dome, the 4-time MLB MVP stole the show once again as he hit a grand slam.

The 31-year-old started the game with a double on the very first pitch. He would hit a line drive down the right field line off pitcher Hao-Chun Cheng and get the game going.

It was in the second inning of the game when the highlight moment came. After walking Munetaka Murakami and giving up a single to Shugo Maki, Cheng would end up hitting Sosuke Genda and load up the bases.

Catcher Kenya Wakatuski would end up hitting a pop-up for the first out. This brought up Ohtani in the batter’s box with the bases loaded. On a 2-1 pitch, Ohtani would swing his bat and send a 77 mph pitch into the stands for a grand slam and give Japan a 4-0 lead.

A double from Masataka Yoshida would make it a 5-0 game. After 1.2 innings, Cheng was relieved from the game.

With Japan batting around, singles from Murakami, Genda and Wakatuski gave Japan a 9-0 lead. Ohtani would then hit a single to extend the lead to 10-0 nothing.

Japan ended up setting a new WBC record with 10 runs in the second inning. Ohtani had driven in 5 of them and was a triple shy of the cycle.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star got caught in the 4th inning as he tried to hit a shot into right field again. He was replaced in the top of the 7th inning and fell a triple shy of hitting the first cycle in WBC history.

Shohei Ohtani’s grand slam against Chinese Taipei had fans losing it on social media

Shohei Ohtani picked up the 2026 WBC from where he left off the 2023 one. In his team’s opening game, the Japanese captain came up clutch once again, going 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs, which included one grand slam.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via X/@TalkinBaseball_)

Users on social media would go into a frenzy following this grand slam from Ohtani. Many lauded him once again, with one writing, “He’s an absolute monster,” on X.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Speaking of Ohtani, he has 3 grand slams in his MLB career. Coincidentally, all three of them have come against the Tampa Bay Rays.

His first came in 2022 as a part of a multi-home run game when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. A year later, he hit a second grand slam against them. In 2024, he hit his third one while playing for the Dodgers.

His third one turned out to be his first career walk-off home run. This home run saw him join the 40-40 club as the Dodgers won 7-3. He would later go on to establish the 50-50 club, becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.

Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan mercy rule Chinese Taipei in WBC opener

Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan started their defense of the WBC title in a dominant fashion. With their captain leading from the front, Team Japan would mercy rule Chinese Taipei as the game was called off after the 7th inning.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via X/@WBC)

For the unversed, there is a mercy-run rule in the 2026 edition. According to this rule, if a team is leading by 10 or more runs after the completion of seven innings or by 15 or more runs after completing five innings, the mercy rule will be enforced and the game will be called off.

Once this rule is applied, the team leading will be declared the winner and no further action will take place. As Japan were leading 13-0 after 7 innings, the mercy-run rule came into place, giving Ohtani and his teammates a dominant victory.

Japan will now take on Korea on Saturday. After that, they will lock horns with Australia on Sunday and wrap up their Pool C campaign with a showdown against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

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