JAPAN BOPS SOUTH KOREA, 6-2, TO WIN WBC POOL 1 TITLE

Michihiro Ogasawara’s pinch-hit single in the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie as Japan went on to post a 6-2 win over South Korea Thursday night in San Diego to clinch first place in Pool 1 of the World Baseball Classic’s second round. Japan scored two more runs in the eighth off an Akinori Iwamura single, and added an insurance run in the ninth inning.

Japan reached the Pool 1 title game by bracketing a pair of shutouts over Cuba around a loss to the Koreans. Japan whitewashed Cuba, 6-0, last Sunday as Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out eight batters in five innings and Shuichi Murata drove in two runs. Following a 4-1 loss to South Korea in which Kosuke Fukudome scored Japan’s only run, the Japanese registered a 5-0 shutout over Cuba as Hisashi Iwakuma blanked the Cubans over six innings.