Son Ju-yeong, a pitcher for the professional baseball team LG Twins who started against Australia in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), ultimately will not board the charter flight to Miami due to injury. He will return to Korea and receive hospital examinations.
A team official said, "Son Ju-yeong will return to Korea today (10th). He will receive hospital examinations to assess his injury." Korea beat Australia and dramatically advanced to the quarterfinals, and the national team players will board a charter flight from Japan to Miami, Florida, on the night of the 10th. However, Son Ju-yeong will not be able to board the charter flight he had dreamed of.
Son Ju-yeong started as the starting pitcher in the final C-group game against Australia in the 2026 WBC group stage at Tokyo Dome on the 9th. He pitched only one inning and came to the mound in the second inning before being replaced.
In the bottom of the first, he retired leadoff hitter Travis Bazzana on a flyout to center and then gave up back-to-back hits. With one out and runners on first and second, he got Alex Hall, who had hit two homers in this tournament, to fly out to left, and retired Jerid Dale on an infield grounder to third to escape the threat without allowing a run.
But in the bottom of the second, Son Ju-yeong, who came to the mound, was replaced while loosening up. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun went up to the mound with a trainer, spoke with the umpires, and replaced Son Ju-yeong. The Korean national team said, "We replaced Son Ju-yeong because of elbow pain." He was replaced after recording one inning, one hit, one walk and no runs allowed.
After the game, Son Ju-yeong told reporters, "I felt a slight discomfort in the elbow area. Even if I could throw, if it wasn't 100% my stuff could be weakened. I couldn't allow runs, and if I had continued to pitch from the mound I would have been anxious, so I told the coach right away."
With Son Ju-yeong out due to injury, attention is focused on whether Korean-American major league reliever Riley O'Brien will join as a replacement player. O'Brien, who was not selected for the national team before spring training because of calf muscle soreness, pitched in a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on the 8th (Korea time), recording one inning, one hit, one walk and no runs allowed.
Because the quarterfinals are in Miami, he could join directly from Jupiter. The key is the St. Louis club's permission to participate and O'Brien's willingness to play.
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