The dream matchup happened. Ninth inning. Two outs. One-run game. The best player on the planet, Shohei Ohtani, on the mound for Japan. His teammate and good friend, Mike Trout, at the plate for Team USA.

The count went full. Ohtani unleashed a vicious slider. Trout swung through it. And with it, Samurai Japan won the World Baseball Classic.

In a tense, anxiety-riddled game with a storybook ending, Japan capped a perfect WBC with a 3-2 victory over the U.S. in front of 36,058 at LoanDepot Park. The Japanese team, holding a potent U.S. offense down and in front of a partisan crowd with "USA!" chants in the ninth inning, won the epic at-bat between the two Los Angeles Angels.

It not only was a deflating loss for Team Venezuela -- being ousted from the World Baseball Classic by Team USA on Saturday night -- but the Houston Astros also lost All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve for an undetermined period of time after he suffered a right-hand injury during an at-bat.

Altuve exited the game in the fifth inning after being drilled by a 96 MPH fastball by Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Daniel Bard.

Cubs starter Justin Steele and six relievers combined on baseball's first spring training no-hitter since 2017, blanking the Padres 4-0.

The Cubs said they believed it was the first spring training no-hitter in their history. The last time they threw a no-hitter in the regular season was June 24, 2021, at the Dodgers.