Japan, Mexico to warm up for Premier12 with series in Osaka in March 2019
<p>Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the <em>Liga Mexicana dei Beisbol</em> (LMB) jointly announced the ENEOS <em><strong>Samurai Japan Series</strong></em> <strong>2019</strong>, two friendly international games between the National Teams of Japan and Mexico.</p>
<p>The two games will be played at <em>Kyocera</em> Dome in Osaka on Saturday, 9 March and Sunday, 10 March. The first game will be a day match, the second will be scheduled at night. The actual game times are yet to be confirmed.</p>
<p>The ENEOS Samurai Japan Series is an event sanctioned by WBSC and the games will be played under WBSC international tournament rules, including the use of WBSC official SSK ball, <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/wbsc-names-ssk-as-official-ball-and-kit-supplier-for-flagship-2019-premier12-2020-olympic-baseball-and-baseball-world-cups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that will be in use</a> at the Premier12 2019 and at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.</p>
<p>If no team has a lead after nine innings, the games will end in a tie.</p>
<p>Rosters will be made of 28 players. The selection process will be backed by NPB and LMB.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-360153" src="https://static.wbsc.org/wp-content/uploads/japon-mexico-beisbol.jpg" alt="ENEOS Samurai Japan Series 2019" width="980" height="550" srcset="https://static.wbsc.org/wp-content/uploads/japon-mexico-beisbol.jpg 980w, https://static.wbsc.org/wp-content/uploads/japon-mexico-beisbol-300x168.jpg 300w, https://static.wbsc.org/wp-content/uploads/japon-mexico-beisbol-768x431.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px" /></p>
<p>Japan <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/japan-kos-mexico-11-1-to-win-bronze-at-wbsc-premier12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defeated Mexico</a> in the bronze medal game of the inaugural Premier12. This friendly series will very likely serve as a preparation for the WBSC Premier12 2019, as both Nations are in place to finish 2018 among the top 12 of WBSC World Rankings.</p>