Japan's Kaito Kozono Drives in 7 Runs in Rout of the US in the Premier12 Super Round

Kaito Kozono drove in seven runs on Thursday, November 21 to lead Japan to a 9-1 demolition of the United States in their first game of the Super Round of the Premier12 baseball tournament.

"It was a great start for us," Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata said. "Our pitchers did a very good job and Kozono had a huge night at the plate."

The Americans took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning at Tokyo Dome on a solo homer to left by Colby Thomas off Chihiro Sumida, Samurai Japan's second pitcher 

Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill, one of the few major leaguers on the team, started for the United States and did a good job of keeping Japan's batters off balance.

The 44-year-old lefty held Japan to one hit while striking out five over four scoreless innings.

Former Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is managing the US team in this tournament, brought in pitcher Darrell Thompson in the fifth and he promptly gave up the tying run.

Sosuke Genda and Keita Sano both singled off Thompson and Shogo Sakakura doubled down the right-field line to score Genda and make it 1-1.

Scioscia then brought in Austin Vernon, who gave up a triple to Kozono that scored runners from first and third to make it 3-1 for Japan.

"I was looking to change the flow of the game in that at-bat," Kozono said. 

He added, "I was able to get a clutch hit and was glad to give us a lead."

Kozono Blast Gives Japan a 6-1 Lead

Kozono put the game out of reach with a three-run homer to right in the seventh inning that made it 6-1 for Japan.

In the eighth, Masayuki Kuwahara drove in another run with a single to center and Kozono hit a two-run shot off Cam Vieaux, the seventh pitcher used by Scioscia, to complete the scoring.

"I'm not known for hitting home runs," Kozono said. "I only hit two during the regular season so I wasn't thinking I would hit two tonight but was happy I did."

Japan starter Hiroto Takahashi struck out eight and gave up two hits and one walk over four scoreless innings.

Spencer Patton, who played for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars from 2017 to 2020, took to the mound in the sixth inning and gave up a single to Ryoya Kurihara before retiring the side.

Premier12 Notes

Samurai Japan, ranked No 1, went undefeated in the preliminary round with wins over Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. And it entered the Super Round as the only undefeated team in the tournament.

The United States, ranked No 5, went 3-2 in the first round. 

Team USA beat the Netherlands 12-2, Panama 9-3 and Mexico 12-2. The Americans lost to Puerto Rico and Venezuela by scores of 1-0 and 5-3, respectively.

Japan and the US have met multiple times at the senior level in international baseball competitions in the last few years. The US owns a 16-10 record over Japan since 2011. 

But Japan prevailed against the US in the finals of the World Baseball Classic 2023 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In the Super Round of the Premier12 in 2019, the US beat Japan 4-3, but Japan still went on to win the tournament.

Following Thursday's game, Japan will face Venezuela on Friday and Taiwan on Saturday.

Venezuela beat Taiwan 2-0 earlier on Thursday on a two-run homer in the fourth by Carlos Perez.

The two teams with the best records after the Super Round will meet in the championship game on Sunday at Tokyo Dome.

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Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.