Japan uses dominant offense to put Korea on ropes
Michael Clair
@michaelsclairTOKYO -- On Friday night at a packed and boisterous Tokyo Dome, Team Korea found that there was no pitcher -- and no sequence of pitches -- who could quiet the Japanese bats. It used a remarkable 10 pitchers, and no arm, fastball or breaking pitch could solve the riddle of Japan’s lineup.
Japan’s lineup always looked like one of the most fearsome in the World Baseball Classic tournament. From one through nine, there isn’t a break -- from leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar to the one and only Shohei Ohtani, to even their six-hole hitter Kazuma Okamoto, who has five-straight seasons of 30-plus home runs.
In its 13-4 win over Korea, Japan’s offensive dominance couldn’t have been more obvious.
Things at least started well for Korea. In a surprising twist, it turned to former Cardinals pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim to start the game after weeks of hinting that he would pitch in relief. But after losing to Australia, 8-7, on Thursday afternoon, this rivalry matchup became a must-win affair.
Korea held a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the third, but that’s when Samurai Japan woke up. The home team put up a four-spot in the third, added two more in the fifth, dropped five in the sixth and added two more in the 7th.
Nootbaar went 2-for-4 and drove in a run. Kensuke Kondoh made up for an error early in the game with two hits, a home run and three RBIs.
“My throw sailed and it led to their run in the previous inning, so I wanted to make up for it,” Kondoh said about his third-inning error. “I’m glad that I was able to cash in on the opportunity my teammates had created.”
Red Sox free-agent signing Masataka Yoshida displayed a whip-like swing and went 3-for-3 with five RBIs, while Ohtani added two hits, an RBI and two walks.
While Japan's offense dominated the game, it was notable for another reason, too: It saw the return of Yu Darvish to Team Japan for the first time since the 2009 World Baseball Classic. While he had joined Team Japan before even the earliest WBC report date, Friday night was Darvish's first game action of the spring. He pitched three innings and gave up three runs (two earned).
"This is my home country and this is where I was born and grew up," Darvish said. "A lot of Japanese fans are watching. This is such a special opportunity, because I pitched in the States for the past couple years. Without playing baseball in Japan, there’s no way that I could have this career, so I pitched with gratitude tonight.
"This might be my last opportunity to pitch in my home country."
"Baseball is such a difficult game," Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama said. "Even if you pitch great, you give up hits, you give up runs. That’s how baseball is. Darvish is such a icon for Team Japan."
This kind of complete decimation of their archrival will only serve to strengthen Japan’s championship bonafides -- and probably terrify any pitchers who have to watch game tape and figure out an upcoming game plan.
"The entire game, it was a very tough struggle," Korea manager Kang-Chul Lee said. "Early in the game, we were ahead, but I think when I changed pitchers, I made a couple mistakes."
For Korea, it almost certainly means this will be its third consecutive tournament that will end in the first round. A roster featuring two Major Leaguers at the top of the lineup, superstar Jung-Hoo Lee in center field, and what was thought to be a young, and promising rotation was thought to be a near-lock for the quarterfinals -- if not the semis and beyond in Miami.
"We have some pitchers in good condition," Lee said. "By mainly using them, we will try to do our best. We still have two games to go."
Japan next faces the Czech Republic (5 a.m. ET FS1), fresh off its first-ever World Baseball Classic win -- on Saturday. Korea, meanwhile, will have time to ruminate on the loss before also taking on the Czech team on Sunday (10 p.m. ET Sat. FS1).