Team Japan has been a powerhouse this year in the World Baseball Classic.
They are set to take on Team Mexico on Monday night in the semifinals at loanDepot Park in Miami.
Los Angeles Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval will get the start for Mexico, while Japan counters with young right-hander Roki Sasaki.
While Japan is undefeated thus far in the WBC, there is a certain trend that they’ll have to deal with.
Since 2013, teams traveling across the Pacific Ocean have lost five consecutive semifinal matchups.
On Twitter, MLB Network analyst Jon Morosi gave a brief synopsis of the recent trend and how Japan is going to have to overcome that.
Japan is 5-0 in this @WBCBaseball, but tonight they need to overcome a trend in recent tournaments:
Teams traveling across the Pacific have lost 5 straight semifinals.
2013: PR defeats JPN; DR defeats NED
2017: PR defeats NED; USA defeats JPN
2023: USA defeats CUB@MLBNetwork— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 20, 2023
Back in 2013, Puerto Rico defeated Japan, while the Dominican Republic eliminated the Netherlands.
In 2017, the trend continued, as Japan fell to Team USA, while Puerto Rico defeated the Netherlands.
Sunday night was no exception, as Team USA took it straight to Team Cuba to advance to the final.
Interestingly enough, Japan has lost the semifinals in two straight Classics after having traveled across the Pacific Ocean.
So while they’ll have stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, and Lars Nootbaar on their side, they still have to find a way to right the ship with this recent trend, which would make it seem as though the deck is stacked against them this year, especially given that they have fallen victim to this trend twice.
The winner of Monday’s game will advance to the final and play Team USA on Tuesday for a chance to claim the WBC title.
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