URGENT: Japan beats U.S. for 3rd World Baseball Classic championship

Japan won its third World Baseball Classic championship Tuesday with a 3-2 win over the defending champion United States behind home runs from Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto, and a scoreless inning from Shohei Ohtani.

Japan’s Yu Darvish surrendered an eighth-inning solo homer in his one inning of relief before Ohtani closed the door in the ninth at Miami’s loanDepot park, sealing his nation’s first WBC title since 2009.