10 wins-2.30 Imai opponents in the final, and repeatedly a crushing defeat against Japan, will he take pride this time
At the WBC (World Baseball Classic) held in March, Korean baseball reaffirmed Japan's high wall. They lost to Japan 4-13 in the second group match. He scored three runs first in the third inning against starting pitcher Yu Darvish (San Diego), but only three hits and one run in six innings were scored by Shota Imanaka (Yokohama), Yuki Udagawa (Orix), Yuki Matsui (Rakuten), and Hiroto Takahashi (Chunichi). Ten pitchers, including starter Kim Kwang-hyun, gave up nine four outs on 13 hits and collapsed.
He lacked the strength to continue the lead even after scoring the first point. I expected a classic, but there was a bigger gap in skills than I thought. In recent international competitions, which he played with the best strength, he was repeatedly blocked by Japan. Japan, which even joined Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels FA), beat the U.S. and won the championship for the first time in 14 years.
Another match between Korea and Japan is waiting. The Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) will open at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 16th. It is a competition where young players under the age of 24 (born after January 1, 1999) and under the third year of professional (joining after 2021) participate. Up to three players under the age of 29 (born after January 1, 1994) can play as a wild card.
Korea made up the national team with No Si-hwan (Hanwha), the No. 1 home run RBI player this season, Kim Hye-sung (Heroes), the No. 1 hold player Park Young-hyun (KT), and Moon Dong-joo (Hanwha), the winner of the Asian Games.
The starting pitcher that Korea will face against Japan has been decided. Seibu Lions left-hander Jihiro Sumida (24) in the match against Korea
He is scheduled to take the mound. He is in his second year as a college graduate who joined as the No. 1 draft pick in 2022.
Since his debut season, he has thrown in the first team. He started 14 out of 16 games and recorded 1 win and 10 losses with a 3.75 ERA. This year, he started all 22 games and posted 9 wins and 10 losses and 3.44. The losing streak, which began last season, continued to 12 games due to the lack of luck. On August 9, he shut out the Softbank Hawks with 132 pitches, five hits, 11 strikeouts and no runs in nine innings.
He throws a variety of breaking balls, including a curve, slider, forkball, change-up, two-seam fast ball. In particular, change-ups, the main weapon, are powerful. During 131 innings, he mainly used changeups to strike out 128. His fastballs reach a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour.
South Korea will face Australia, Japan and Taiwan in turn from the 16th to the 18th. If South Korea advances to the final on the 19th, it is likely to meet Japan.
A starting pitcher who will play in the final game (final or third- to fourth-place match) has also been appointed. It's right-hander Imai Matsuyah (25), of Seibu. Joined as a wild card. He is the top pick in the 2017 draft. He won double digits for the first time in his seventh year as a professional. He is 10-5 with a 2.30 ERA in 19 games this year.
On April 13, he shut out the Chiba Lotte Marines with 138 pitches, two hits, 11 strikeouts and no runs in nine innings. He went down to the second division for more than a month in the first half due to poor condition. In July, he won his first monthly MVP as an individual with three wins and a 0.62 ERA.
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