Japan will take on the Seattle Mariners next Wednesday in an exhibition game as part of its warmup ahead of the second round of the inaugural World Baseball Classic, baseball officials said Saturday.
It will give Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki a chance for some at-bats against his major league teammates and hopefully get the rest of Sadaharu Oh's team in shape to play teams from Pool B, which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico and South Africa.
Japan, which has booked a berth along with South Korea into the second round of the 16-nation tournament, will also play an exhibition game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Maryvale, Arizona on Friday. The second round gets under way in Anaheim, California, on March 12.
The Mariners and San Diego Padres are holding spring training in Peoria, Arizona, site of Japan's training camp for the WBC second round.