Japan survive Czech scare to stay unbeaten at World Baseball Classic

Playing without rested superstar Shohei Ohtani, Japan had to wait until the eighth inning before they got on the scoreboard against the winless Czechs at the Tokyo Dome. Japan's bats eventually came to life to finish Pool C with four wins out of four. They now head to the knock-out round in the United States looking to win the title for a record-extending fourth time. But they were given a tough time by the mostly amateur Czechs, whose pitchers struck out six Japanese batters including Major League Baseball players.