Cubs Slugger Seiya Suzuki Has Huge Game at the Plate for Team Japan in WBC Victory

Seiya Suzuki is playing for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic and the Chicago Cubs star had a huge role in their win over Korea on Saturday.

Suzuki slammed two home runs in the contest, and his teammate, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, said after the game that Team Japan’s comeback 8-6 win couldn’t have happened without Suzuki’s home runs.

It was a rivalry game and that helped fuel one of the best atmospheres in the WBC to this point. Suzuki’s game helped put him in Team Japan’s history books in the tournament.

Seiya Suzuki’s two home runs

His first home run came with Japan down 3-0 in the first inning. His opposite field two-run shot cut the lead to 3-2 and positioned his country to tie the game later in the inning on a Shohei Ohtani solo home run.

Team Japan cuts into the deficit quick

Seiya Suzuki two-run homer! #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/iBVh3gh1nf
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 7, 2026

The game remained tied until the bottom of the third when Suzuki batted again. This time, his solo home run made it a 4-3 game for Japan.

Korea tied the game at 5-5, and in the bottom of the seventh, Suzuki provided the go-ahead run that stuck. But it wasn’t a third home run. Instead, it was a bases-loaded walk to score Taisei Makihara to make it 6-5. Japan hung on from there for the win.

SEIYA SUZUKI HOMERS AGAIN

Team Japan leads! #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/oCTPVNc4rJ
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 7, 2026

With his two-home run game, he became the third Japanese player in WBC history to do so, something not even Ohtani has done. He joined Tetsuto Yamada, who did it on March 14, 2017, and Shinnosuke Abe, who did it on March 12, 2013.

Suzuki and Team Japan are currently in pool play action, where five teams will play one another in a round robin format. The top two teams in each pool will advance out of pool play and into quarterfinal action, which is single elimination. Japan has already won its first two games in pool play in Tokyo.

The expectation is that Japan, which won the WBC title in 2023 with a win over Team USA, will advance from pool play and into elimination action to defend its crown, with Suzuki in tow.

Team Japan has two more games left in pool play. Next up is Australia on Sunday at 6 a.m. Eastern on FS1. Australia is also undefeated in pool play, so the game is for the top spot. The last game is on Tuesday against Czechia at 6 a.m. Eastern on FS1.