(WBC) S. Korean bullpen lit up again, with little hope for turnaround

▲ Lee Eui-lee of South Korea reacts to a wild pitch thrown against Japan during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Pool B game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ South Korea manager Lee Kang-chul watches his team in action against Japan during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Pool B game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Yun-sik of South Korea checks the ball before making a pitch against Japan during the bottom of the sixth inning of a Pool B game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Won-jung of South Korea checks the ball before making a pitch against Japan during the bottom of the sixth inning of a Pool B game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

(WBC) S Korea-bullpen

(WBC) S. Korean bullpen lit up again, with little hope for turnaround

By Yoo Jee-ho

TOKYO, March 10 (Yonhap) -- For the second straight day at the ongoing World Baseball Classic (WBC), South Korea's bullpen let a tight game get out of hand.

Fingers could be pointed at many different directions after South Korea dropped its second consecutive game Friday night at Tokyo Dome, but the team's subpar relief pitching has caused the biggest headache this week.

South Korea only trailed Japan 4-3 through four innings, and it was still 6-4 heading into the bottom sixth.

Things spun out of control quickly there, with a five-run Japanese explosion against four South Korean relievers.

Jeong Cheol-won gave up a leadoff triple to Takumu Nakano and handed the reins to left-hander Kim Yun-sik.

Kim walked and then hit a batter to load the bases, and walked another man to push a run across. Just like that, his day was done. He faced a minimum three batters and put all of them on base.

Kim Won-jung relieved him in an impossible situation: facing Shohei Ohtani, the 2021 American League MVP, with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Ohtani greeted him with an RBI single, and the next two batters went sacrifice fly-single to give Japan a 10-4 cushion.

Another reliever, Jung Woo-young, gave up an RBI hit to Kazuma Okamoto.

The first five Japanese hitters in the starting lineup were left-handed, but after left-handed starter Kim Kwang-hyun, three right-handers followed.

Kim Yun-sik was the first southpaw out of the pen, and he didn't even record an out.

Manager Lee Kang-chul summoned two more righties after that. Conspicuous by their absence during the messy turn of events were two young left-handers, Koo Chang-mo and Lee Eui-lee.

The two supposed starters didn't come out until the game was well out of reach, with Japan leading 11-4 through six innings.

Koo was charged with two earned runs in 1/3 of an inning, and it was Lee who let in runners that he inherited from Koo.

Lee walked three of the four batters he faced.

The manager's curious decision not to call on these lefties appears to indicate his lack of trust in those options.

Veteran left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong wasn't considered Friday after surrendering a three-run shot versus Australia the previous night. It didn't help that closer Go Woo-suk was not available for the second straight day due to neck stiffness.

The state of the bullpen was so dire that a right-handed starting option, Park Se-woong, came on in the seventh to clean up some mess.

All told, nine pitchers after Kim Kwang-hyun gave up nine runs on 10 hits and six walks.

This was after the relievers were roughed up for six runs in 4 2/3 innings in an 8-7 loss to Australia on Thursday. South Korea led that game 4-2 at one point.

Most relievers have been struggling to find the strike zone with any consistency, and it doesn't seem likely they will suddenly find their groove over the next two games.

(END)

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