Japan survived a scare to beat Australia 4-3 at the World Baseball Classic on Sunday as the defending champions booked their place in the quarter-finals as Pool C winners.
Japan, watched by the country's Emperor Naruhito at the Tokyo Dome, fell behind to the unfancied Australians in the sixth inning but a two-run home run by Masataka Yoshida edged them ahead one inning later.
Japan stretched their lead but two dramatic ninth-inning solo home runs from Alex Hall and Rixon Wingrove gave Australia hope until the final out.
Unbeaten Japan were guaranteed a place in the knock-out round before the game even started after Taiwan edged South Korea 5-4 in Pool C earlier in the day.
"From the first game to the second to the third, I've felt the unity in the team getting stronger and stronger," said Japan starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.
"We still have one more pool game to play in Tokyo and I expect us to go into it with a strong sense of togetherness."
Australia have another chance to grab a quarter-final place when they face the South Koreans in their final pool game on Monday.
Japan thrashed Australia in pool play at the previous World Baseball Classic in 2023 but they found the cricket-mad country a different proposition this time around.
Australia manager Dave Nilsson said he was "very disappointed with the outcome".
"We got really close with the best team in the world, we just couldn't get it over the line," he said.
"We did a lot of good things tonight, we're just feeling disappointed."
- Australia still alive -
The Australians held Japan scoreless for the first six innings and some quick thinking got them out of a sticky situation.
With the bases loaded and Japan superstar Shohei Ohtani at the plate in the fourth inning, Australia catcher Robbie Perkins picked off Shugo Maki at second base to end the inning.
Japan's defence was not as sharp and a mistake by catcher Kenya Wakatsuki handed Australia the lead through Aaron Whitefield in the sixth inning.
Yoshida calmed Japan's nerves with a home run in the next inning but Australia's late heroics kept the game alive until Japan finally closed it out.
The win guaranteed Japan first place in Pool C regardless of what happens in their final group game against the already eliminated Czech Republic on Tuesday.
"We've played three games in a row and we were playing warm-ups before that, so we haven't really had a break," said Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata.
"We'll freshen up tomorrow and come back the day after with energy. We want to make sure we go into the knock-out round in good shape."
Australia are locked in a three-way battle with Taiwan and South Korea for the final quarter-final spot from Pool C.
Nilsson said he believes his team have "the ability to shake tonight".
"Obviously there's a lot of emotions after tonight, we had an opportunity to win the pool," he said.
"We'll take a while and then we'll flush that and then we'll be in good position tomorrow."
amk/mjw
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