“That was pretty good,” gushes the starting pitcher for Toyota’s production management team.
“They were very good.”
Ryu Jung-il, head coach of the Korean Asian Games (AG) baseball team, traveled to Japan in late July to analyze the opposition. The player who caught Ryu’s eye the most was Shuichiro Kyo. He has a fastball that can reach up to 150 kilometers per hour. He was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Japan Social Baseball Urban Competition.
Ryu praised the pitcher in a phone conversation after his return from Japan, saying, “I could see the power of a foreign pitcher in the KBO.”
Kyo is a social baseball player affiliated with Toyota Motor Corporation. According to information provided by Toyota Motor Corporation, Kayo is a member of the in-house production management team.
As coach Ryu Jung-il feared, the Korean national team struggled with Kayo’s power.
In the top of the first inning, Korea’s leadoff hitter Kim Hye-sung (Kiwoom Heroes) drew a walk. However, Choi Ji-hoon (SSG Landers) followed with a straight hit and Kim was thrown out at first base. The third batter, Yoon Dong-hee (Lotte Giants), drew a walk, but was unable to score as he was hit by a pitch.
South Korea didn’t get a single hit against Gao until the third inning. Leadoff hitter Choi Ji-hoon reached on an infield single to end Kyo’s no-hitter. Yoon Dong-hee followed with a single to put runners on first and third, but a failed steal followed by a strikeout and a straight hit ended the inning.
After the first inning, Gayo continued her stellar defense through the fourth inning.
Kang Baek-ho led off the fifth with an infield single, but the next three batters were stranded. In the sixth inning, Kim Hye-sung led off with a double through the Japanese outfield, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Choi Ji-hoon and a walk to Yoon Dong-hee to put runners on first and third. Noh Si-hwan, the No. 4 hitter, followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to end the scoreless streak.토토사이트
Japan replaced the pitcher with left-hander Mizuki Kato to prevent further damage.
Kyo allowed one run on four hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings against a Korean squad that is 23.2 years younger than the KBO average.
South Korea escaped the cliff by holding on to a single run in the sixth inning. The team finished 1-1 in the group stage and super rounds combined. If Taiwan defeats China on Friday evening and Korea defeats China on Saturday, they will advance to the final regardless of the remaining results.