OSAKA, If nothing else, South Korean players deserve credit for their singular focus in their preparation for the World Baseball Classic (WBC): it has remained on the team’s first game against Australia for weeks, if not months, and it didn’t waver after an exhibition loss on Monday.
South Korea fell to the Japan Series champions Orix Buffaloes 4-2 at Kyocera Dome Osaka, while making three errors and managing only two runs off 10 hits.
It was the first pre-WBC game with South Korea for San Diego Padres infielder Kim Ha-seong, who wasn’t available for earlier scrimmages due to club commitments. Though Kim committed an error at shortstop after starting the game at third base, he said the game wasn’t as bad as the final score suggested.
“The mood in the clubhouse is still pretty good, and we’re all trying to peak for the first game,” Kim said of the noon Thursday showdown at Tokyo Dome. “It was our first game with everyone together, and it wasn’t too bad at all.”
South Korea will later face Japan, the Czech Republic and China in Pool B, all at Tokyo Dome. The top two nations after round-robin action will advance to the quarterfinals, and with Japan, world No. 1, being the clear favorite, South Korea and Australia are expected to duke it out for the second seed.
If South Korea prevails in the opener, then it could even afford to lose to Japan, as long as it gets past the Czechs and Chinese as expected. However, a loss to Australia will turn the Japan game into a must-win affair for South Korea, a tall order against a team boasting star big leaguers such as Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish.
South Korea and Japan have long been bitter rivals in sports, but Kim reiterated that he won’t look past Australia.
“Our focus right now is on Australia, rather than on Japan,” Kim said. “And no matter who’s on the mound, I will go up to the plate with confidence.”
Outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, who went 2-for-4 batting third in the lineup, echoed Kim’s sentiment.
“The Australia game is more important than the Japan game,” he said. “We want to play well in the first game, and then worry about Japan when we get closer to that game.”
Among South Korean pitchers, right-hander So Hyeong-jun, who started Monday’s loss, said he was pleased with the way he made his pitches.
“I know the results weren’t that great, but I am still satisfied because I pitched the way I wanted to,” said So, who gave up three runs, two unearned, in 1 1/3 innings on three hits against nine batters.
“In earlier outings, I didn’t get the velocity that I wanted, but I was able to throw fairly hard today,” So said. “And I had good command with my pitches, too. My two-seam fastball was especially effective and I was able to induce a few ground balls with it.”
South Korean pitchers, all of them based in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), experienced some trouble with the official WBC ball, which is slicker and has lower seams than the KBO ball. But So said he’s fully adjusted to the WBC ball now.
Reliever Kim Won-jung chimed in: “I think we’ve gone past a point where the ball issue is an excuse. We have to produce good results no matter what, and I am trying not to think too much about the ball.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency