Hiroya Miyagi and five relievers combined on a one-hit shutout as Japan beat the Netherlands 5-0 in the opener of their two-game exhibition series Wednesday.
Miyagi, a member of the 2023 World Baseball Classic champion team, set the tone by working three perfect innings with four strikeouts at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Japan’s Hiroya Miyagi pitches against the Netherlands in Game 1 of their two-game exhibition series at Kyocera Dome Osaka on March 5, 2025. (Kyodo)
“It’s good that my fastball velocity was up,” the Orix Buffaloes left-hander said. “I’ll try to show the manager (Hirokazu Ibata) and coaches how much I can do in the regular season and make the team (for the next WBC in March 2026).”
Shun Mizutani homered to center off Kevin Kelly leading off the bottom of the first.
Japan’s Shun Mizutani hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Netherlands in Game 1 of their two-game exhibition series at Kyocera Dome Osaka on March 5, 2025. (Kyodo)
Akito Takabe singled in two runs in the sixth before the young Japanese team added two insurance runs in the eighth.
Dwayne Kemp had the Netherlands’ only hit, a leadoff double in the fifth. Japan’s pitching walked one and hit a batter.
The two teams will meet again Thursday at the same stadium.
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