Japan uses dominant offense to put Korea on ropes
TOKYO — On Friday evening at a packed and boisterous Tokyo Dome, Team Korea discovered that there was no pitcher — and no sequence of pitches — who might quiet the Japanese bats. It used a exceptional 10 pitchers, and no arm, fastball or breaking pitch might resolve the riddle of Japan’s lineup.
Japan’s lineup at all times appeared like one of the vital fearsome within the World Baseball Classic match. From one by way of 9, there isn’t a break — from leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar to the one and solely Shohei Ohtani, to even their six-hole hitter Kazuma Okamoto, who has five-straight seasons of 30-plus house runs.
In its 13-4 win over Korea, Japan’s offensive dominance couldn’t have been extra apparent.
Things not less than began properly for Korea. In a shocking twist, it turned to former Cardinals pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim to start out the sport after weeks of hinting that he would pitch in aid. But after dropping to Australia, 8-7, on Thursday afternoon, this rivalry matchup turned a must-win affair.
Korea held a 3-0 lead into the underside of the third, however that’s when Samurai Japan wakened. The house crew put up a four-spot within the third, added two extra within the fifth, dropped 5 within the sixth and added two extra within the seventh.
Nootbaar went 2-for-4 and drove in a run. Kensuke Kondoh made up for an error early within the recreation with two hits, a house run and three RBIs.
“My throw sailed and it led to their run in the previous inning, so I wanted to make up for it,” Kondoh mentioned about his third-inning error. “I’m glad that I was able to cash in on the opportunity my teammates had created.”
Red Sox free-agent signing Masataka Yoshida displayed a whip-like swing and went 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs, whereas Ohtani added two hits, an RBI and two walks.
While Japan’s offense dominated the sport, it was notable for an additional cause, too: It noticed the return of Yu Darvish to Team Japan for the primary time for the reason that 2009 World Baseball Classic. While he had joined Team Japan earlier than even the earliest WBC report date, Friday evening was Darvish’s first recreation motion of the spring. He pitched three innings and gave up three runs (two earned).
“This is my home country and this is where I was born and grew up,” Darvish mentioned. “Loads of Japanese followers are watching. This is such a particular alternative, as a result of I pitched within the States for the previous couple years. Without enjoying baseball in Japan, there’s no approach that I might have this profession, so I pitched with gratitude tonight.
“This might be my last opportunity to pitch in my home country.”
“Baseball is such a difficult game,” Japan supervisor Hideki Kuriyama mentioned. “Even if you pitch great, you give up hits, you give up runs. That’s how baseball is. Darvish is such a icon for Team Japan.”
This sort of full decimation of their archrival will solely serve to strengthen Japan’s championship bonafides — and possibly terrify any pitchers who’ve to look at recreation tape and determine an upcoming recreation plan.
“The entire game, it was a very tough struggle,” Korea supervisor Kang-Chul Lee mentioned. “Early in the game, we were ahead, but I think when I changed pitchers, I made a couple mistakes.”
For Korea, it nearly actually means this might be its third consecutive match that may finish within the first spherical. A roster that includes two Major Leaguers on the prime of the lineup, celebrity Jung-Hoo Lee in heart subject, and what was regarded as a younger, and promising rotation was regarded as a near-lock for the quarterfinals — if not the semis and past in Miami.
“We have some pitchers in good condition,” Lee mentioned. “By mainly using them, we will try to do our best. We still have two games to go.”
Japan subsequent faces the Czech Republic (5 a.m. ET FS1), recent off its first-ever World Baseball Classic win — on Saturday. Korea, in the meantime, could have time to ruminate on the loss earlier than additionally taking up the Czech crew on Sunday (10 p.m. ET Sat. FS1).
