As the Japan-South Korea baseball rivalry turned into a slugfest, fans reacted enthusiastically.
Japanese sports outlet "Full Count" reported on the 7th that as Samurai Japan, the Japanese national team aiming for a second consecutive World Baseball Classic (WBC) title, engaged in a back-and-forth duel with Korea at the Tokyo Dome, fans erupted in "joyful cries."
Korea started with Go Young-pyo as the starting pitcher. The starting lineup was designated hitter Kim Do-young — left fielder Jimmy Jones — center fielder Lee Jung-hoo — right fielder Ahn Hyun-min — third baseman Shay Whitcomb — first baseman Moon Bo-gyeong — shortstop Kim Joo-won — catcher Park Dong-won — second baseman Kim Hye-seong.
Japan set the lineup as designated hitter Shohei Ohtani — right fielder Gondo Gensuke — center fielder Suzuki Seiya — left fielder Yoshida Masataka — third baseman Okamoto Kazuma — first baseman Murakami Munetaka — second baseman Maki Shugo — shortstop Genda Sosuke — catcher Sakamoto Seishiro. The starting pitcher was left-hander Kikuchi Yusei.
Japan had an uneasy start as starter Kikuchi Yusei allowed three runs in the first inning. But they immediately countered. In the bottom of the first, Suzuki Seiya hit a two-run homer toward the right-field stands to start the comeback.
In the third inning, Shohei Ohtani hit a game-tying solo home run. The ball traveled 124.4 meters, exit velocity 178.3 km/h, peak height 46 meters, launch angle 41 degrees — a massive hit. Suzuki followed with consecutive homers in back-to-back at-bats to flip the game, and Yoshida Masataka added a solo homer as Japan rode the string of homers to seize momentum.
But Korea answered right away. In the fourth, Ito Hiromi gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Kim Hye-seong, restoring balance to the game. Through the sixth inning the teams remained deadlocked at 5-5. The game ultimately ended in an 8-6 victory for Japan.
Full Count said that although Japan has often shown the upper hand over Korea recently, because this game developed into a close contest, fans showed great interest.
On social media, the outlet added, excited reactions continued, including "The game was so fun I missed my bath time," "As expected, WBC Japan-Korea games are fun," "International tournaments need this level of tension," and "WBC is so much fun."
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