Baseball: WBC-winning Japan manager slams sudden bracket change

Japan’s World Baseball Classic-winning manager Hideki Kuriyama on Monday criticized organizers of the tournament for their sudden change in bracket that as a result pitted the United States against his team in the final.

The two teams were to meet in the semifinals under the original bracket, but the organizers announced a schedule switch on March 16 for two quarterfinal games in Miami amid speculation that they did so to offer a matchup between two of the game’s biggest stars -- Los Angeles Angels teammates Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani -- in the final.

“I was making plans for a semifinal show...