OSAKA, Two days prior to its first game of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), South Korea is still not firing on all cylinders on offense.
South Korea pieced together nine hits in a 7-4 over the Hanshin Tigers in its final pre-WBC exhibition game at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Tuesday.
On Thursday, South Korea will play its first Pool B game of the big tournament against Australia at Tokyo Dome.
Tuesday's win followed a 4-2 loss to the Japan Series champions Orix Buffaloes from Monday. South Korea pounded out 10 hits but only scratched out two runs in the top ninth against the Buffaloes.
The lack of thump from the stars remains a concern. South Korea went deep just once in these two games, courtesy of a solo shot by utility infielder Kim Hye-seong, who is unlikely to see much action in the tournament.
The team had one extra-base hit on Monday, and two more on Tuesday, with backup outfielder Park Kun-woo hitting a double.
Of South Korea's first four runs on Tuesday, only one was scored via a base hit. The team's first run came off a groundout by Park Byung-ho, though third baseman Teruaki Sato deserves credit here for snaring the hard-hit ball to rob Park of a double.
South Korea got three straight singles to get a run across in the fifth, with Kang Baek-ho delivering the RBI knock off minor league pitcher Akira Niho.
A walk loaded the bases with nobody out for Kim Ha-seong, who bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to only bring one runner home. A wild pitch gifted a run for South Korea later in the inning.
Kim had also hit into a double play with two runners aboard in Monday's loss.
The lack of production from a collection of MVP-winning boppers and All-Star hitters has been disappointing.
First baseman Park Byung-ho went 0-for-6 in two games in Osaka. Right fielder Na Sung-bum was 1-for-6, while captain and left fielder Kim Hyun-soo, the team's most experienced international player, batted 1-for-7.
On the bright side, catcher Yang Eui-ji, an excellent offensive backstop in the KBO who has struggled at the plate at recent international events, picked up two singles from the No. 8 spot.
Source: Yonhap News Agency