“Submarine Ace” Koh Young-pyo (32, KT Wiz) will start as a starting pitcher against Australia in the first match of the finals.
Korea will play its first match against Australia in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Group B finals at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 9th. Korea’s starting mound is guarded by Koh Young-pyo.
At the press conference on the 8th, national team coach Lee Kang-cheol did not say anything about the starting pitcher for the game against Australia, but Koh Young-pyo’s sortie was virtually confirmed. Koh Young-pyo missed two recent warm-up games against Japanese teams. It was the moment when the chances of starting against Australia increased.
Ko Young-pyo is in the best condition on the mound for his national team. In three evaluation matches, he threw 7 innings, 3 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts, and no runs. It showed off a clean look that did not give even a single point.
In particular, on the 3rd, in an evaluation match against SSG Landers Future Steam, he continued his upward trend by fighting hard with no hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts and no runs in 3 innings. His main weapon changeup was powerful, and his pitching felt stable.
Coach Lee Kang-cheol has emphasized the importance of the first game against Australia several times. He has to put on the first button well. After the match against Australia, Korea will play the fateful match against Japan the next day. Go Young-pyo’s mission is very important.안전놀이터
Meanwhile, Australia chose left-handed prospect Jack Oloclean (23, Detroit Tigers) as the starting pitcher, not Warwick Saupold (33, Perth Heat).
Standing tall at 196 cm, Oloclean played 4 seasons in Single A under Detroit, appearing in 61 games (33 starts), recording 9 wins, 8 losses, 194 innings, and 176 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.34. In the Australian Baseball League (ABL) after the season, he posted an earned run average of 3.27 with 26 strikeouts in 22 innings in 7 games.
Attention is drawn to the start-up match between Koh Young-pyo of the “nuclear submarine” and Oloclyn of the “tall left-hander”.