Cancun World Classic Day 2: Russia Survives Late Scare, Fax Islands Cruise, Tony Ohtani Delivers Historic Performance
- Fax Sports
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
CANCÚN — Day 2 of the 2026 Cancun World Classic delivered chaos, controversy, and one of the most unbelievable individual performances in international baseball history.
Russia survived a furious comeback from North Korea, the Fax Islands powered past Mongolia behind dominant pitching and timely home runs, and North Japan unleashed a historic offensive explosion led by Tony Ohtani, who produced a performance that already has fans calling it the greatest single game in tournament history.
Inside the packed Cancun Dome, the second day of the tournament proved that the early group stage would be anything but predictable.
Russia 8, North Korea 7 (Pool A)
Russia nearly blew a massive early lead but held on in dramatic fashion to secure its first victory of the tournament.
The game started as a complete rout.
Russia exploded in the first inning, beginning with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launching a three-run home run to put Russia ahead 3–0. Moments later, The Rizzler followed with a solo blast to make it 4–0.
Before North Korea could even settle in, Nikola Jokic delivered the biggest swing of the inning — a towering grand slam that extended the lead to 8–0.
“We just kept passing the bat,” Guerrero said after the game. “When Jokic hit that grand slam, we thought the game was basically over.”
North Korea, however, had other plans.
In the fifth inning, Ji-man Choi reignited the game with a grand slam, cutting the deficit to 8–4 and bringing the North Korean dugout back to life.
The real drama came in the ninth inning.
With Russia trying to close out the game, Ha-Seong Kim crushed a three-run home run that suddenly made it 8–7, sending the North Korean fan section into a frenzy.
Moments later, the bases were loaded with one out.
Team Russia manager Vladimir Putin turned to Alexander Vesia, who delivered the biggest pitch of the game — striking out Hyeseong Kim with the bases loaded to secure the save and preserve the victory.
“I wasn’t thinking about the situation,” Vesia said. “Just throw strikes and trust the defense.”
Russia improves to 1–0 in Pool A, while North Korea falls to 0–1.
Fax Islands 5, Mongolia 1 (Pool D)
The Fax Islands made a strong statement in their tournament debut, combining dominant pitching from Justin Verlander with power hitting to defeat Mongolia 5–1.
Verlander controlled the game from the start, keeping Mongolia’s lineup off balance with a mix of fastballs and breaking pitches.
“He looked like vintage Verlander,” Fax Islands manager Dusty Baker said. “When he’s locating like that, he’s tough for anybody.”
The Fax Islands struck first in the third inning when Marc Olsen launched a two-run home run, giving the Fax Islands a 2–0 lead.
The biggest blow came in the sixth inning, when Ronald "Wheelchair Wonder" Acuna Jr. crushed a three-run homer that pushed the lead to 5–0 and effectively put the game out of reach.
Mongolia got on the board in the eighth inning when Tommy Pham hit a solo home run, but the comeback attempt fell short.
The most spectacular moment of the night came in the ninth inning.
With Mongolia threatening after a Juan Soda error (due to him helping Kristi Noem update her LinkedIn page), Lars Nootbaar launched what looked like a potential go-ahead Golden Taco 7-run home run — only for Cancun legend Josh Reddick to make a stunning robbery at the wall to preserve the victory.
“That ball was gone,” Reddick said with a grin. “I just told myself, ‘Climb the wall and make a play.’”
The Fax Islands move to 1–0 in Pool D, while Mongolia drops to 0–1.
North Japan 29, Armenia 0 (Pool C)
If the Cancun World Classic needed a defining moment, it got one courtesy of Tony Ohtani.
North Japan delivered a historic 29–0 victory over Armenia in a game that quickly became one of the most surreal contests ever played in international baseball.
Ohtani wasted no time making history.
In the first inning, he somehow hit two grand slams in the same at-bat, giving North Japan an immediate 8–0 lead and sending fans inside the Cancun Dome into stunned disbelief.
“I honestly don’t even know how to explain that,” North Japan teammate Eric Sim said after the game. “We were just looking at each other like, ‘Did that really happen?’”
The offensive barrage continued throughout the night.
Sim added a three-run homer in the seventh inning, while Ohtani continued launching home runs seemingly every time he stepped to the plate.
By the end of the game, Ohtani had hit 10 home runs.
As if that wasn’t enough, he also threw a complete game no-hitter on the mound.
“I just tried to stay locked in,” Ohtani said calmly after the game. “When the team is scoring like that, pitching becomes easier.”
The game also featured a bizarre injury moment when Anthony Rendonian threw out his back arguing balls and strikes and will reportedly miss the remainder of the tournament.
North Japan improves to 1–0 in Pool C, while Armenia falls to 0–1.
Other Day 2 Results
Finland 7, Syria 4 (Pool B)
Turkey 1, Lebanon 0 (Pool B)
Cuba 11, China 10 (Pool A)
Turkmenistan 4, Azerbaijan 3 (Pool C)
Greenland 6, Saudi Arabia 2 (Pool D)
Updated Cancun World Classic Standings
Pool A
Russia 1–0
Cuba 1–0
Texas 0-0
China 0–1
North Korea 0–1
Pool B
Greece 1–0
Finland 1–0
Lebanon 1–1
Turkey 1–1
Syria 0–2
Pool C
North Japan 1–0
Turkmenistan 1–0
Belarus 0-0
Armenia 0–1
Azerbaijan 0–1
Pool D
Fax Islands 1–0
Greenland 1–0
Myanmar 0-0
Mongolia 0–1
Saudi Arabia 0–1
With the group stage heating up, several teams have already established themselves as early contenders. But if the first two days have proven anything, it’s that anything can happen inside the Cancun Dome — and the tournament is only getting started.