TOKYO, Their hitters spotted them a two-run lead with nine outs to go, but the South Korean relievers couldn't keep the team in front in a crucial World Baseball Classic (WBC) game on Thursday.
South Korea lost to Australia 8-7 to begin Pool B play at Tokyo Dome. A 4-2 South Korean lead turned into a 5-4 Australian advantage in the top of the seventh, with Robbie Glendinning smoking a three-run blast off reliever Kim Won-jung.
The lead grew to 8-4 in the eighth, as Robbie Perkins touched Yang Hyeon-jong for a three-run shot of his own over the left field wall.
Starter Ko Young-pyo didn't exactly strike fear into the Australian lineup, either, though he had long been tabbed for this start because it was believed Australian hitters wouldn't be able to handle his breaking balls from the sidearm delivery.
Tim Kennelly scoffed at the notion with a solo shot in the fifth that put Australia up 2-0 and chased Ko from the game.
And Ko was far from the worst South Korean pitcher on this day.
With South Korea having taken a 4-2 lead, right-hander So Hyeong-jun began the seventh inning for South Korea. Though still 21, So has developed a reputation as a big-game pitcher, thanks to some postseason heroics for the KT Wiz in the Korea Baseball Organization.
On this day, though, So didn't have quite the magic. He hit Robbie Perkins to open the frame, and gave up a single to Ulrich Bojarski.
A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to second and third, and new reliever Kim Won-jung was brought in to clean up the mess.
Kim struck out Alex Hall but hung a forkball against Glendinning for a devastating three-run shot.
Another seemingly reliable pitcher, Yang Hyeon-jong, also disappointed out of the bullpen, as he surrendered a three-run homer to Perkins in the eighth.
Yang did not record an out, going single-double-home run before Lee Yong-chan came on.
Manager Lee Kang-chul, who also manages So on the Wiz, tried to come to the young pitcher's defense, saying it must have been a valuable learning experience.
"I chose him to take the mound with a 4-2 lead because he usually has a great command of his pitches and he can get guys out in many different ways," Lee said. "I felt he was just the stabilizing force we needed at the moment. Giving up three runs there probably swung the pendulum the other way."
Source: Yonhap News Agency