Lee Yi-ri (KIA Tigers) struggled against the Japanese bats, but managed to hold on.
Lee Yi-ri (21-KIA Tigers) pitched six innings and allowed two runs on six hits (one home run) with three walks and three strikeouts in his first start at the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
After defeating Australia 3-2 in the first round of the tournament, Ryu was tapped to start against Japan in the second round. “Lee Yi-ri is the best left-handed pitcher in Korea. There are a lot of left-handed batters in Japan,” he said, adding, “I think if Lee Yi-ri has good pitches, he will block them well. From what I saw, the ball is fast. When his pitches are good, he’s hard to hit. We’ll see from the first inning tomorrow if his pitches are good or not.”
Lee faced Japan’s lineup of Yuki Okabayashi (center fielder), Kaito Kozono (shortstop), Shoto Morishita (left fielder), Shugo Maki (first baseman), Teruaki Sato (third baseman), Chusei Mannami (right fielder), 먹튀검증 Shogo Sakura (catcher), Makoto Kadoki (second baseman), and Yuki Nomura (designated hitter).
Just as Moon struggled with his fastball the previous day (Nov. 16), so did Lee on this day. Ryu attributed Moon’s struggles to the high mound. “The mound is a little high and the footing is low. From the second inning, I could feel it.”
Lee threw a 148-kilometer per hour fastball to lead off the first inning against Okabayashi, but his overall delivery was shaky. He eventually drew a walk, but Okabayashi was caught stealing.
He then gave up consecutive singles to the second through fourth batters.
With the bases loaded, he struck out Sato on a slider and got Mannami to fly out to end the inning.
The second inning settled down. The bases were loaded. Second baseman Kim Hye-sung singled.
In the third inning, the runs finally came. The leadoff batter, Okabayashi, was walked again. Konojo followed with a single and Morishita walked to load the bases. They got Maki to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but a runner reached base in the process. He struck out Sato to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, a 146-kilometer fastball to leadoff hitter Mannami was hit right down the middle for a home run. The next three batters all grounded out.
In the fifth inning, he struck out the first batter, Okabayashi Okabayaji. Kozono was hit by a pitch, but Kim Hyung-joon cleared the bases with a stolen base, 바카라사이트 and Morishita was thrown out at the plate.
In the sixth, he struck out Maki, Sato, and Mannami to end the inning with a triple play.
96 pitches total. Down 2-0 in the seventh, he handed the mound over to Oh Won-seok and finished the day.