Kim Gwang-hyeon (35, SSG Landers) came down the mound in the 3rd inning in the fateful match against Korea and Japan.

Kim Gwang-hyun started the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Group B 1st round 2nd game with the Japanese national team held at Tokyo Dome, Japan at 7:00 pm on the 10th, facing 11 batters in 2 innings (59 pitches), 3 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, 4 Recorded a run (4 earned).

It is a fateful match between Korea and Japan facing each other on the edge of a cliff. Korea lost by one point, 7-8, in the first game against Australia the previous day (9th). As a result, the victory in the war between Korea and Japan became more desperate.

In the end, Korea’s choice was ‘eternal ace’ Kim Kwang-hyun. Kim Gwang-hyun participated in a total of 16 games in international competitions, recording an average ERA of 3.43 with 5 wins and 3 losses. Debuting as a member of the national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he fought hard against Japan in the preliminary round of the tournament, giving up one run in 5⅓ innings. Then, in the finals, he started against Japan in the semifinals, threw well with 6 hits, 5 strikeouts and 2 runs in 8 innings.

Kim Gwang-hyun, who took on a heavy duty again, stood at the Tokyo Dome. As soon as he got on the mound in the first inning, Kim Gwang-hyun treated the lead hitter, Lars Nuthba, with a fly ball from center fielder, and then struck out the follow-up Kendo Kondo after a full-count match with a swinging miss. The next batter is Shohei Ohtani.안전놀이터

Kim Gwang-hyun’s restraint began to gradually speed up. Kim Gwang-hyun threw a curveball (114km) with his first pitch. Ohtani parried the foul. The second pitch is also a one-bound curve (122km). Kim Gwang-hyun and Yang Eui-ji’s battery continued to induce them outside to avoid giving good balls.

and the third pitch. The fastest speed was recorded in the first inning. 148 km. It was Kim Gwang-hyun’s fastball strike. Kim Gwang-hyun, who had an advantageous ball count. And Kim Gwang-hyeon persistently did not give good balls. He kept throwing the ball toward the outside low side. Both the 4th pitch slider (140km) and the 5th pitch slider (140km) went into one bound and turned into balls.

With the full count, Ohtani threw a slider (136 km) on the 6th pitch, but Ohtani recorded a foul again. In the end, the winner was Kim Gwang-hyun. Kim Gwang-hyeon’s 7th pitch slider fell low to the outside again, drawing out Ohtani’s bat. Ohtani was the first player Korea faced as a hitter in a national team game. The result was a complete victory for Kim Gwang-hyun.

In the second episode, Kim Gwang-hyun continued to show power struggles. After looking and striking out Murakami, he allowed Yoshida to go on base on a throwing error by second baseman. However, he clenched his fists by striking out Okamoto and Maki in consecutive swings.

The first crisis came 3 times. Leading batters Genda and Nakamura were allowed consecutive walks, causing a crisis on the 1st and 2nd bases safely. Subsequently, Nutba received a heavy hit and Gondo hit a mid-month timely hit, respectively. Korea was chased from 3-0 to 3-2. It was finally here. Kim Gwang-hyun, who recorded 59 pitches, handed over the mound to Won Tae-in.

The next batter is Ohtani. The Korean bench chose the 4th pitch of the automatic goal. Boos from Japanese fans enveloped the Tokyo Dome. Won Tae-in handled Murakami with a fly ball to second base, but Yoshida hit 2 RBIs in a timely manner, increasing Kim Gwang-hyun’s run to 4 points.