Tokyo: South Korea will turn to former major league All-Star Ryu Hyun-jin in a crucial opening round game against Chinese Taipei at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Ryu, who was the 2019 ERA champion in Major League Baseball and has since returned to South Korea, is set to pitch in South Korea's third Pool C game at Tokyo Dome at noon on Sunday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea began the competition with an 11-4 victory over Czechia on Thursday but suffered a setback with an 8-6 loss to Japan on Saturday. The team now faces a must-win situation, as only the top two teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals, making it critical for South Korea to avoid any more losses.
Ryu's upcoming start will mark his first appearance at Tokyo Dome since he last faced Chinese Taipei in a WBC pool game on March 6, 2009. Over his 14 career international games, Ryu has achieved a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA over 51 2/3 innings. He was instrumental in South Korea's gold medal victory at the 2008 Summer Olympics and their journey to the championship final at the 2009 WBC.