On the eve of Japan's World Baseball Classic opener against Brazil, Masahiro Tanaka said that one stellar outing would change people's perception.
But it didn't work out that way. The impression he gave on Saturday night was not what he wanted.
After a couple of inconsistent outings in warmup games, Tanaka was again shaky on the mound as a starting pitcher for the two-time reigning tournament champion Japan. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles right-hander seemingly had no idea how to get batters out on the day, lasting only two innings after giving up four hits and a run (unearned) on 23 pitches.