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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Playoffs-Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees Oct 8, 2025 Bronx, New York, USA New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge 99 reacts to striking during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Yankee Stadium New York USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBradxPennerx 20251008_pjc_ae5_788
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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Playoffs-Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees Oct 8, 2025 Bronx, New York, USA New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge 99 reacts to striking during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Yankee Stadium New York USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBradxPennerx 20251008_pjc_ae5_788
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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Playoffs-Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees Oct 8, 2025 Bronx, New York, USA New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge 99 reacts to striking during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Yankee Stadium New York USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBradxPennerx 20251008_pjc_ae5_788
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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Playoffs-Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees Oct 8, 2025 Bronx, New York, USA New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge 99 reacts to striking during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Yankee Stadium New York USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBradxPennerx 20251008_pjc_ae5_788
For the defending WBC champions, a dynasty’s defense is already on shaky ground. As their bullpen shows signs of crumbling, Aaron Judge and a loaded Team USA are watching closely, ready to exploit the very weakness that could dethrone them.
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Samurai Japan’s presumed closer Taisei Ota’s injury is a fresh scare for manager Hirokazu Ibata.
Taisei Ota entered the 9th inning of the February 27 Luxas Samurai Japan Series exhibition at the Vantelin Dome Nagoya. With Japan ahead 5-3 against the Chunichi Dragons, Ota was closing a tight game. He started pretty strong with a 96 mph fastball and was able to retire two batters quickly.
Aiming for the third, he went to cover toward third base but cramped his right calf. He was immediately replaced, as Hirokazu Ibata didn’t want to take a risk with his top closer candidate.
This is not an isolated event for the Japanese side, though.
Kaima Taira recently suffered a similar fate. The high-leverage arm suffered a left calf strain and withdrew from the roster on February 12. Daichi Ishii had it even worse. He was carted off the field mid-practice due to left Achilles tendon damage.
A more recent setback involved pitcher Yuki Matsui. He suffered an injury to his groin on Feb 26 and was ultimately replaced by Yumeto Kanemaru. These back-to-back losses elevated Ota’s importance for the 3x WBC champion.
Taisei Ota delivered 4.0 scoreless innings in four appearances last tournament. His submarine delivery, along with the splitters were key to Japan’s triumph.
Their bullpen stability helped them edge past the then-defending champions. Ota’s 0.00 ERA bridged to Ohtani’s final strikeout sealed the deal for their team. But now, with the high-leverage arms like Ishii, Taira, and Matsui having already withdrawn, Samurai Japan’s late-game reliability is in trouble.
Manager Ibata offered the only sigh of relief.
He termed Ota’s cramp as “not serious,” Yahoo News reported.
While Ibata downplayed Ota’s specific injury, the series of setbacks to key pitchers creates a concerning pattern for Japan’s bullpen depth, even if Ota can play the whole WBC run.
The USA team, led by Aaron Judge, might be poised to capitalize against the current champions this time around.
Would Japan’s bullpen vulnerability open the doors for Aaron Judge and co?
In contrast to Japan’s last-minute bullpen crisis, the Red, White, and Blue enters WBC 2026 with one of the most dominant relief corps in tournament history.
Pitching at 101+ mph, Mason Miller is the projected closer for the USA.
Griffin Jax’s multi-inning capability, combined with David Bednar‘s late-inning reliability, packs a wallop for the 2023 runner-up. A right-handed heavy core with lefty specialists like Garrett Cleavinger or Gabe Speier indicates that Americans will exploit vulnerabilities in pressure spots.
Team USA’s offensive side is stacked as well.
From experienced hitters like Bryce Harper to young blood like Bobby Witt Jr., with Kyle Schwarber as DH, the Americans are raring to go. Especially with Aaron Judge at the helm, the entire team is incredibly motivated and will be hungry for redemption.
However, a face-off between the USA and Japan isn’t guaranteed yet.
In case they do meet in the knockout stages, with Samurai Japan’s pressure innings exposed, the Judge and co will definitely try to turn the tables.
But Japan has the biggest stake here. With fans admiring the ‘real life anime character’ Shohei Ohtani, whose batting practice filled Vantelin Dome Nagoya, understating Japan’s motivation would be a mistake.
With the stage set, it is just a matter of time before we find out who tops who.