Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. combine for first WBC game with two leadoff home runs

MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. got the World Baseball Classic quarterfinal off to a pulsating start, combining for the first WBC game with two leadoff homers.

Acuña homered on the second pitch from World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Venezuela’s 8-5 win on Saturday night, driving a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second home run of the tournament.

Ohtani led off the bottom half against Ranger Suárez with a 427-foot drive to center on a 2-1 slider, a ball that was 113.6 mph off the bat. Ohtani watched the ball, flipped his bat and motioned with both hands to teammates in the third-base dugout. The home run, which tied the score 1-1 for the defending champions, was Ohtani’s third of the WBC.

No regular or postseason game has included leadoff home runs by players who had won MVPs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Ohtani, 31, is a four-time MVP who helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to the last two World Series titles.

Acuna, 28, won the 2023 NL MVP award and helped the 2021 Atlanta Braves win a championship.

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