A right hamstring injury to Japanese first baseman Shuichi Murata drained some of Japan’s joy from a 6-2 victory over arch-rival South Korea on Thursday at the World Baseball Classic.
Murata suffered the injury while running the bases in the fourth inning of a win that sends defending Classic champion Japan into a semi-final against the US tomorrow and pits South Korea against Venezuela today.
‘SAD AND SORRY’
PHOTO: AFP
“His injury is a major thing. He’s not in condition to be able to play so he will have to be replaced,” Japan manager Tatsunori Hara said. “Murata was very sad and sorry for what happened.”
Murata, who leads Japan with six runs batted in, was set to be replaced by Kenta Kurihara of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp for the semi-final showdown at Los Angeles against the US collection of Major League Baseball stars.
The victory gave Japan a split of four Classic games against the reigning Olympic champion South Koreans, with a chance for yet another meeting in Monday’s championship game at Los Angeles if both win this weekend at Dodger Stadium.
Boston Red Sox ace Daisuke Matsuzaka or Japan League star Yu Darvish are the likely Japanese starters, but Hara would not say which would get the nod tomorrow.
One night after securing a semi-final spot by denying Cuba a global podium for the first time in 50 years, Japan scored three runs on four hits in the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie in a pairing-decider that excited neither team.
“We didn’t put great meaning to winning or losing,” South Korean manager Kim In-sik said. “Psychologically it was flat.”
Japan had beaten South Korea 14-2 at Tokyo in a first-round game ended after seven innings by the mercy blowout rule, but lost 1-0 at Tokyo and 4-1 in San Diego on Tuesday.
The South Koreans know only what they have seen on TV about a Venezuelan lineup filled with major league talent as well.
“Many of them are major leaguers. We have seen them on TV many times,” Kim said. “These players hit long balls and their pitchers are very strong. Our players will do their best and we will play with them until the last moment.”
STRONG PITCHING
Seven Japanese pitchers scattered six South Korean hits, only three coming in the final seven-and-two-thirds innings.
South Korea’s Lee Bum-ho and Japan’s Seiichi Uchikawa each homered, Lee’s blast knotting the score in the seventh to set up Japan’s surge in the eighth.
South Korean outfielder Lee Yong-kyu was struck at the top of the neck by a third-inning fastball from Japanese southpaw starter Tetsuya Utsumi and taken out of the game with a bruise. He will be monitored by doctors.
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