Japan beats South Korea 6-0 to reach World Classic final
SAN DIEGO -- Japan beat South Korea once in three attempts during the World Baseball Classic -- and that was enough to reach the championship game.
Kim Byung-hyun gave up another big home run Saturday night, a two-run shot by pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome in the seventh inning that broke a scoreless tie and sent Japan to a 6-0 victory over South Korea.
Koji Uehara pitched seven shutout innings for Japan, which plays Cuba for the championship Monday night at Petco Park. The Cubans advanced by beating the Dominican Republic 3-1 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
South Korea entered the nightcap as the WBC's only unbeaten team with a 6-0 record, going 3-0 in both qualifying rounds. Japan was 3-3, including a pair of one-run losses to the Koreans, and 1-2 in the second round.
The Japanese reached the semifinals by winning a tiebreaker over the United States and Mexico. They only got another crack at South Korea because Mexico beat the Americans 2-1 Thursday in the last game of the second round.
Nobuhiko Matsunaka doubled off losing pitcher Jun Byung-doo to start the seventh. Kim relieved and struck out Hitoshi Tamura before Fukudome hit a 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats.
Fukudome, batting for Toshiaki Imae, flipped his bat as he left the box, certain the ball was gone. Fukudome came to the plate with only two hits, including a homer, in 19 at-bats in the Classic.
Kim hit the next batter with his first pitch, prompting plate umpire Bob Davidson to warn both benches.
After a wild pitch, Tomoya Satozaki hit a ground-rule double to make it 3-0 and chase Kim. Pinch-hitter Shinya Miyamoto and Ichiro Suzuki added RBI singles off Son Min-han to complete Japan's decisive five-run rally.
Tamura opened the eighth with a solo homer off Bae Young-soo, connecting as a steady rain began to fall. A 45-minute rain delay began one out later.
Suzuki, the Seattle Mariners star and one of only two major leaguers on the Japanese roster, had three hits and two stolen bases.
Uehara was brilliant, giving up only three hits while walking none and striking out eight before being relieved by Yasuhiko Yabuta to start the eighth. Uehara retired 13 straight batters during one stretch. Yabuta and Akinori Otsuka each pitched one inning to complete the shutout.
South Korea starter Seo Jae-weong allowed three hits in five scoreless innings, retiring the last six batters he faced. Seo allowed only one run in 15 innings in three Classic starts.
Jun retired the side in order in the sixth before Japan blew the game open. South Korea had given up only eight runs in 60 innings entering the seventh.
A crowd of 42,639 that included Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward attended the game. Ward's mother is South Korean.
The pro-Korean fans began banging their blue and white Thunderstix as Seo delivered the first pitch. As was the case in Anaheim on Wednesday night, when South Korea beat Japan 2-1, they cheered every strike.
Suzuki was moved from the leadoff spot to third in the lineup. He hit a two-out single and stole second in the first before Matsunaka grounded out.
Lee Jong-beom doubled in the bottom half and went to third on a two-out wild pitch, but Choi Hee-seop grounded out. South Korea didn't get another baserunner until Park Jin-man hit a two-out single in the fifth.
Munenori Kawasaki doubled and Norichika Aoki walked with one out in the Japan third, but Tsuyoshi Nishioka lined into a double play.
Suzuki singled and stole second again in the fourth, but Seo retired the next three batters. (By John Nadel, AP Sports Writer)
You can read the full article here.
SAN DIEGO -- Japan beat South Korea once in three attempts during the World Baseball Classic -- and that was enough to reach the championship game.
Kim Byung-hyun gave up another big home run Saturday night, a two-run shot by pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome in the seventh inning that broke a scoreless tie and sent Japan to a 6-0 victory over South Korea.
Koji Uehara pitched seven shutout innings for Japan, which plays Cuba for the championship Monday night at Petco Park. The Cubans advanced by beating the Dominican Republic 3-1 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
South Korea entered the nightcap as the WBC's only unbeaten team with a 6-0 record, going 3-0 in both qualifying rounds. Japan was 3-3, including a pair of one-run losses to the Koreans, and 1-2 in the second round.
The Japanese reached the semifinals by winning a tiebreaker over the United States and Mexico. They only got another crack at South Korea because Mexico beat the Americans 2-1 Thursday in the last game of the second round.
Nobuhiko Matsunaka doubled off losing pitcher Jun Byung-doo to start the seventh. Kim relieved and struck out Hitoshi Tamura before Fukudome hit a 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats.
Fukudome, batting for Toshiaki Imae, flipped his bat as he left the box, certain the ball was gone. Fukudome came to the plate with only two hits, including a homer, in 19 at-bats in the Classic.
Kim hit the next batter with his first pitch, prompting plate umpire Bob Davidson to warn both benches.
After a wild pitch, Tomoya Satozaki hit a ground-rule double to make it 3-0 and chase Kim. Pinch-hitter Shinya Miyamoto and Ichiro Suzuki added RBI singles off Son Min-han to complete Japan's decisive five-run rally.
Tamura opened the eighth with a solo homer off Bae Young-soo, connecting as a steady rain began to fall. A 45-minute rain delay began one out later.
Suzuki, the Seattle Mariners star and one of only two major leaguers on the Japanese roster, had three hits and two stolen bases.
Uehara was brilliant, giving up only three hits while walking none and striking out eight before being relieved by Yasuhiko Yabuta to start the eighth. Uehara retired 13 straight batters during one stretch. Yabuta and Akinori Otsuka each pitched one inning to complete the shutout.
South Korea starter Seo Jae-weong allowed three hits in five scoreless innings, retiring the last six batters he faced. Seo allowed only one run in 15 innings in three Classic starts.
Jun retired the side in order in the sixth before Japan blew the game open. South Korea had given up only eight runs in 60 innings entering the seventh.
A crowd of 42,639 that included Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward attended the game. Ward's mother is South Korean.
The pro-Korean fans began banging their blue and white Thunderstix as Seo delivered the first pitch. As was the case in Anaheim on Wednesday night, when South Korea beat Japan 2-1, they cheered every strike.
Suzuki was moved from the leadoff spot to third in the lineup. He hit a two-out single and stole second in the first before Matsunaka grounded out.
Lee Jong-beom doubled in the bottom half and went to third on a two-out wild pitch, but Choi Hee-seop grounded out. South Korea didn't get another baserunner until Park Jin-man hit a two-out single in the fifth.
Munenori Kawasaki doubled and Norichika Aoki walked with one out in the Japan third, but Tsuyoshi Nishioka lined into a double play.
Suzuki singled and stole second again in the fourth, but Seo retired the next three batters. (By John Nadel, AP Sports Writer)
You can read the full article here.
