MIAMI – The back-and-forth World Baseball Classic semifinals battle between Japan and Mexico was packed with moments that kept the sellout crowd of 35,933 on the edges of their seats inside loanDepot park, and it had all the makings of an instant classic.

Skyrocketing home runs, jaw-dropping defensive plays, electric pitching performances – that even topped triple-digit velocity – and finally a walk-off double, all with the game’s biggest global star in the lineup to deliver one of the most significant at-bats of the entire 2023 World Baseball Classic.

When the dust settled, Team Japan had defeated Team Mexico, 6-5, on Monday to advance to face the defending champion Team USA for the WBC title on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET on FS1).

“Obviously, it’s a big accomplishment to get to the championship series, but there’s a huge difference between getting first and second,” said two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, who jump started Japan’s ninth-inning rally with a leadoff double. “I’m going to do all I can to get first place.”

• The Japanese call of Japan’s walk-off win is a must-listen

“I know my hand was a little shivering,” Yoshida said. “But I know that there was a good connection. … I remember I stepped into the box with a belief in myself.”

“It’s been a while since I was playing in a win-or-lose game, a playoff atmosphere game,” Ohtani said. “Obviously, we couldn’t lose and I wanted to get the guys rallied up in the dugout.”

Yoshida drew a walk in the next at-bat to put runners on first and second (Ukyo Shuto then pinch-ran for Yoshida) with no outs for Munetaka Murakami, who had been 0-for-4 in the game. From the second Murakami made contact with Gallegos’ 1-1 fastball, the crowd burst into a frenzy, knowing what was about to ensue. The ball soared 400 feet off the left-center field wall, sending Ohtani and Shuto flying home for the game-tying and game-winning runs.

“When I hit the ball, I was hoping it was going to go into the back stands, but I guess I didn’t have enough power to hit the ball out of the stadium,” Murakami said. “But I know that Shuto was a really fast runner, so I figured we will win.”

With a victory, Japan stays undefeated in WBC play. The winner of the 2006 and ‘09 tournaments will look to unseat Team USA from its championship reign. Japan ended Mexico’s memorable tournament run in a game that will be remembered for far more than the final score.