What makes you think the USN would accept that battle?
Japanese battleships
The Japanese did try to do exactly that, close in to the USN and offer battle the old-fashioned way, at gun range. The trouble was their scout planes quickly reported the USN was moving away and declining action.
As such the only recourse the Japanese had was a pursuit in vain hope of a night action, but if their blind pursuit didn’t work they’d be out of position, low on fuel and in range of enemy carriers and ground based planes both.
The Japanese wisely decided to break off the offered action and withdraw. They lost a cruiser and a destroyer (plus one more of each badly damaged) to pursuing US fleet as it was.
