Dodgers Teammates Hit Home Runs in World Baseball Classic Game

Pool play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic is off and running, which for Los Angeles Dodgers fans has required early-morning viewing.

The latest such instance came Saturday morning, with Team Korea and Team Japan facing off. First pitch at the Tokyo Dome was set for 2 a.m. PT, with the matchup featuring Dodgers teammates Hyeseong Kim and Shohei Ohtani playing against each other.

One night removed from making World Baseball Classic history, Ohtani slugged a home run for the second consecutive game. His solo shot in the third inning pulled Japan even, and Seiya Suzuki's second homer of the night put them ahead.

"Yes, I was watch the game very seriously and he's so cool," Kim said of seeing Ohtani's grand slam in Japan's first game. "Although the game is not the game against us and as an audience he's such a great. And as a teammate I'm always cheering and supporting him.

"Only for today he's an opponent player so whenever he hit the groundball I'm make sure to have perfect defense to make him out.

Kim's lone hit against Japan was a two-run home run in the fourth inning that tied it for Korea.

The threat Ohtani poses later led to an intentional walk with a runner already in scoring position and ultimately resulted in Japan taking a decided lead en route to their 8-6 win.

"What a great game," Ohtani said through an interpreter after Samurai Japan improved to 2-0 in pool play.

Hyeseong Kim trending up for Dodgers

Kim went hitless in Korea's first WBC game but did draw a walk and scored one run in their 11-4 win over Czechia. He's off to a somewhat modest start in the international tournament but the power swing was another encouraging sign for Kim.

He had six hits, including one home run, and five RBI in 13 at-bats over four Cactus League games before leaving Dodgers Spring Training. Kim's production is all the more paramount for the Dodgers as they are set to begin the season without Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández availale.

That's created an opening at second base, where Kim figures to be part of a platoon. The other half of which appears to be Santiago Espinal, who joined the Dodgers on a Minor League contract.

Kim played second base (45 games), center field (17) and shortstop (11) during his rookie season with the Dodgers. Before leaving Spring Training this year he made three starts at second base and one in center field.

Part of Kim's offseason training entailed further working to become comfortable in center field and also making minor mechanical changes to his swing.