With the Asian Games baseball gold medal at stake, South Korean teen right-hander Moon Dong-ju pitched the game of his life Saturday in China.
Moon shut down Chinese Taipei over six dominant innings, striking out seven and giving up three hits as South Korea prevailed 2-0 for its fourth consecutive gold medal.
South Korean starter Moon Dong-ju celebrates after retiring the side in the bottom of the sixth inning during the Asian Games baseball gold medal game against Chinese Taipei at Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre in Shaoxing, China, on Oct. 7, 2023. (Yonhap)
Amid persistent rainfall at Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre in Shaoxing, southeast of the main host city of Hangzhou, Moon, 19, never lost grip of his pitches, mixing in his signature fastballs with devastating breaking balls to keep opposing hitters off balance all game.
As South Korea avenged its 4-0 loss to the same Chinese Taipei team in the preliminary round Monday, Moon also got a measure of personal redemption.
Moon was the losing pitcher in that earlier game, after allowing two runs on three hits in four innings, while also throwing a costly wild pitch.
Moon allowed a leadoff double to Cheng Tsung-Che in that game, and Cheng scored the game's first run on Lin An-Ko's two-out triple.
Cheng also led off Saturday's game with a double, but Moon retired the next three batters in order, including Lin with a strikeout.
South Korean starter Moon Dong-ju pitches against Chinese Taipei during the Asian Games baseball gold medal game at Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre in Shaoxing, China, on Oct. 7, 2023. (Yonhap)
Moon got into a groove from that point on, giving up just one single over the next four frames while striking out four.
Cheng continued to be a thorn in Moon's side, as he smoked a one-out double off the right field wall in the sixth inning. Moon dug deep, however, striking out the next two batters to end that threat.
Moon pumped his fist and let out a scream of joy, all fired up after killing what turned out to be Chinese Taipei's last rally against him.
Relievers Choi Ji-min, Park Yeong-hyun and Go Woo-suk took it from there, holding Chinese Taipei to just two more hits the rest of the way.
In April this year, Moon touched 160 kilometers per hour (99.4 miles per hour) with his fastball during a Korea Baseball Organization game for the Hanwha Eagles, becoming the first South Korean-born pitcher to hit that revered mark. The hype around his velocity, dating back to his high school days, became reality.
Then on Saturday, Moon put South Korea on his back and rode that fastball of his to the top of the podium.
Source: Yonhap News Agency