A slightly more respectable 18,000 fans (compared to 5000 or so for the afternnon opener between Korea and Taiwan) turned up to observe an offensive explosion by the Japanese side ; homers by 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioki, CF Kosuke Fukudomo (above) and LF Hitoshi Tamura were part of an 18 hit attack.
The widely mocked mercy rule was employed after 8 innings. On the bright side, the entire China squad is going to Shakey’s Pizza because they’re such good sports.
It might be difficult to find a Shakey’s Pizza in Tokyo, however, in which case players can substitute dinner for being allowed to look at an uncensored version of Google.