S. Korean pitching far from spectacular in win over Czechia

South Korean starter So Hyeong-jun pitches against Czechia during the teams’ Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Thursday. Yonhap

TOKYO — Given plenty of early run support, South Korean pitchers were far from spectacular in their team’s big win over Czechia to start the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Thursday.

Starter So Hyeong-jun gave South Korea three shutout innings while scattering four hits at Tokyo Dome, but the six relievers that followed him had up-and-down performances in what ended up being an 11-4 win.

The lopsided score, made possible by four home runs from the explosive lineup, covered up some of the pitching issues that could be further exposed against stronger opponents later in the tournament.

Before the game, manager Ryu Ji-hyun had said he would keep So under 50 pitches. During the first round, pitchers who throw at least 50 pitches in a game must sit out for a minimum four days, while those who toss 30 or more pitches must rest for one day.

So covered his three innings in 42 pitches and since South Korea is off Friday, the right-hander will be available again starting with Saturday’s game against Japan.

So was far from his sharp, groundball-inducing self, though. He allowed a hit in each of his three innings and had to wiggle his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second inning after Moon Bo-gyeong’s grand slam had staked him to a 4-0 lead in the bottom first.

So, consistently among the top groundball pitchers in the Korea Baseball Organization, induced only two groundouts, though both were double play balls.

So said afterward he was surprised with how well Czechia hitters attacked his signature two-seam fastball.

“I had to really focus on how to get after those hitters in different situations,” he said. “At least we got the win here and I am glad we will be able to build on this positive momentum.”

Ryu had previously announced right-hander Jeong Woo-joo would follow So as the team’s second pitcher. But it was a different right-hander, Noh Kyung-eun, who took the mound in the fourth inning.

Noh, the oldest South Korean player here at 41, gave up two singles but kept the Czechs off the board.

Jeong did come out to begin the fifth inning, but he hit Max Prejda with his very first pitch. The 19-year-old struck out the next batter, but then served up a single before allowing a three-run home run to Terrin Vavra that cut South Korea’s lead to 6-3.

After falling behind 3-1 in the count, Jeong threw Vavra an inside fastball at 92.6 miles per hour, and the left-handed batter pulled it over the right-center field wall.

A two-run homer by Shay Whitcomb, his second long ball of the day, pushed South Korea’s lead back up to 8-3. Then three relievers that followed Jeong — Park Yeong-hyun, Jo Byeong-hyeon and Kim Young-kyu — each tossed a scoreless inning to settle things down a bit. However, Park and Jo didn’t throw as hard as they normally do, with no signs that they will suddenly be able to get their velocity up over the next couple of days.

With South Korea up comfortably 11-3, You Yeong-chan came on in the ninth to finish things up but he did not make things easy for himself. He walked the first batter he faced and gave up a single before allowing a sacrifice fly for Czechia’s fourth run.

The right-hander had also experienced trouble in exhibition games and may be unplayable in upcoming games against Japan, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

South Korea beat Czechia only by one in hit totals, 10-9. South Korean pitchers allowed a base runner in seven of the nine innings.