Suzuki-led Japan wins WBCtitle over S Korea
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 25, 2009 00:00
LOS ANGELES - Japan successfully defends World Baseball Classic title with a hard-fought 5-3 victory over South Korea. Ichiro Suzuki, who plays for the MLBteam Seattle Mariners, hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the 10th inning to lead his country to a consecutive triumph in the WBC
Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the 10th inning as defending champion Japan beat reigning Olympic champion South Korea 5-3 Monday night to win its second straight World Baseball Classic title.
The Japanese won the inaugural tournament three years ago, beating Cuba 10-6 in the finals at San Diego. "Well, we represented Japan," manager Tatsunori Hara said through a translator. "Day-by-day, the team evolved. I felt like we could have scored more, but it was difficult for us to earn runs with the Korean defense."
Japan, which outhit South Korea 15-5, blew several scoring opportunities and stranded 14 runners.
"We became No. 1 in the world," Hara said. "The fact that two Asian countries were able to play against each other in the finals is something that we and the Koreans can be proud of."
The 35-year-old Suzuki, an eight-time All Star, is a .331 hitter in eight seasons with the Mariners after starring in Japan. He tied Lou Gehrig's major league record with his eighth straight season of at least 100 runs and 200 hits last year.
Tied at three
South Korea had tied the game at 3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on Lee Bum-ho's run-scoring single off Japanese closer Yu Darvish (2-1), who got in trouble by issuing one-out walks to Kim Hyun-soo and Kim Tae-kyun, the 3-4 hitters in the lineup.
Darvish struck out Choo Shin-soo before Lee lined a 1-1 pitch into left field, with pinch-runner Lee Jong-wook scoring easily from second.
Seiichi Uchikawa opened the 10th with a single, was sacrificed to second and took third on a single by Akinori Iwamura. After pinch-hitter Munenori Kawasaki popped out, Iwamura took second on defensive indifference.
Suzuki managed to foul off a pitch after it had bounced before lining the eighth pitch of the at-bat from Lim Chang-yong (1-1) to center for his fourth hit. The Mariners' star entered with a .211 average and three RBIs in eight previous games.
Given the lead, Darvish worked around a leadoff walk to retire South Korea in the bottom of the 10th, setting off a wild celebration when he struck out Lee Jin-young to end the four-hour game.
"Although there is regret, we did our best," South Korean manager Kim In-sik said through an interpreter. "I myself have no dissatisfaction. We kept coming back."
Asked about allowing Suzuki to hit with two runners in scoring position instead of walking him intentionally, Kim replied: "I don't know why the pitcher tried to pitch directly to Ichiro. I did not understand. In the end, it did not work out for us. The pitcher and the catcher did not communicate well in terms of their signs. And in the end, that led to the hit by (Suzuki). Of course I have a regret as to what happened."
After the medal presentations, the champions posed with the trophy behind a large Japanese flag that was laid out on the field, and then carried it around the stadium.
Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka won the MVP award for the second straight time after going 3-0 - the same record he had in the first WBC. The Boston Red Sox right-hander had a 2.45 ERA in 14 2-3 innings over three starts.
"I believe that we were the two best teams in the world," Korean Bong Jung-keun said. "Asia is best, world best, and Korea and Japan were able to fight until the end. It was a great glory for all of us."
The Japanese won the inaugural tournament three years ago, beating Cuba 10-6 in the finals at San Diego. "Well, we represented Japan," manager Tatsunori Hara said through a translator. "Day-by-day, the team evolved. I felt like we could have scored more, but it was difficult for us to earn runs with the Korean defense."
Japan, which outhit South Korea 15-5, blew several scoring opportunities and stranded 14 runners.
"We became No. 1 in the world," Hara said. "The fact that two Asian countries were able to play against each other in the finals is something that we and the Koreans can be proud of."
The 35-year-old Suzuki, an eight-time All Star, is a .331 hitter in eight seasons with the Mariners after starring in Japan. He tied Lou Gehrig's major league record with his eighth straight season of at least 100 runs and 200 hits last year.
Tied at three
South Korea had tied the game at 3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on Lee Bum-ho's run-scoring single off Japanese closer Yu Darvish (2-1), who got in trouble by issuing one-out walks to Kim Hyun-soo and Kim Tae-kyun, the 3-4 hitters in the lineup.
Darvish struck out Choo Shin-soo before Lee lined a 1-1 pitch into left field, with pinch-runner Lee Jong-wook scoring easily from second.
Seiichi Uchikawa opened the 10th with a single, was sacrificed to second and took third on a single by Akinori Iwamura. After pinch-hitter Munenori Kawasaki popped out, Iwamura took second on defensive indifference.
Suzuki managed to foul off a pitch after it had bounced before lining the eighth pitch of the at-bat from Lim Chang-yong (1-1) to center for his fourth hit. The Mariners' star entered with a .211 average and three RBIs in eight previous games.
Given the lead, Darvish worked around a leadoff walk to retire South Korea in the bottom of the 10th, setting off a wild celebration when he struck out Lee Jin-young to end the four-hour game.
"Although there is regret, we did our best," South Korean manager Kim In-sik said through an interpreter. "I myself have no dissatisfaction. We kept coming back."
Asked about allowing Suzuki to hit with two runners in scoring position instead of walking him intentionally, Kim replied: "I don't know why the pitcher tried to pitch directly to Ichiro. I did not understand. In the end, it did not work out for us. The pitcher and the catcher did not communicate well in terms of their signs. And in the end, that led to the hit by (Suzuki). Of course I have a regret as to what happened."
After the medal presentations, the champions posed with the trophy behind a large Japanese flag that was laid out on the field, and then carried it around the stadium.
Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka won the MVP award for the second straight time after going 3-0 - the same record he had in the first WBC. The Boston Red Sox right-hander had a 2.45 ERA in 14 2-3 innings over three starts.
"I believe that we were the two best teams in the world," Korean Bong Jung-keun said. "Asia is best, world best, and Korea and Japan were able to fight until the end. It was a great glory for all of us."