Major league star Shohei Ohtani started his return trip to Japan with a bang, blasting a pair of three-run homers in consecutive at-bats for Japan in a warmup game for the upcoming World Baseball Classic against the Hanshin Tigers on Monday night at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Batting third as the designated hitter, Ohtani struck out in his first at-bat, then belted a two-out, three-run homer over the center-field fence off righthander Hiroto Saiki. He then repeated that feat, again with a blast to center, in the fifth inning off lefthander Ren Tomita.
He was taken out for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning as Japan went on to win 8-1.
