Shohei Otani plays a double-sided role helping Japan defeat China in the first match of the WBC World Championship.

Shohei Otani put on a show for thousands of enthusiastic fans during Samurai Japan’s first match at the World Baseball Classic.

Otani started on the hill, was in the roster as DH and performed in both roles to help Japan to an 8-1 victory over China in front of a crowd of 41,616 at the Tokyo Dome on Thursday night.

“It was a tough game in the beginning, but we were able to get our bats to work at the end and we were able to win,” Otani said.

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