Korea Advances to Round 2 of Classic

Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop drove in five runs on four hits, including two homeruns, in a 10-1 win against China at the Tokyo Dome yesterday, guaranteeing that Korea will advance to the main round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Designated hitter Lee collected his first RBI on a sacrifice fly in the first inning with runners on first and third with one out. In the third inning with a runner on second and one out, Lee hit a 120m homerun off Chinese starter Chen Kun. Lee added another RBI in the sixth inning with a base hit, and followed that up with a 130m homerun against China’s pitcher Lai Guojun in the eighth.

The win guaranteed Korea a trip to the tournament’s main round in Anaheim regardless of the outcome of Korea’s game against Japan on March 5.

Lee’s strong showing at the Tokyo Dome exited many because it will be his home field for Lee who recently moved from Lotte to Yomiuri. “Joining new team and all, I’ve been trying to show a lot in a short period of time. I’m glad that my homeruns at the Tokyo Dome left a positive impression,” Lee said after the game. Lee hit a homerun in a practice match against Lotte at Tokyo Dome on March 1.

Lee’s slugging performance pleased Yomiuri manager Hara Tatsunori, according to Japanese reports. After hearing about Lee’s homeruns from reporters after a Yomiuri practice game against SoftBank, Hara reportedly said, “Is it true? That is amazing. That is a very good news for Yomiuri.”

With Lee’s Yomiuri first base competition Joe Dillon recovering from back injury, Lee’s success in the World Baseball Classic so far could work in his favor.

In other news, Japan beat Taiwan, 14-3, and made it to the WBC final eight yesterday. Japan’s fifth hitter, Tamura Hitoshi (Yokohama), hit a three-run homerun in the first inning against Taiwan.

Japan’s most famous hitter, Suzuki Ichiro (Seattle Mariners) has not played to expectations so far, with a batting average of .200 and two runs in two WBC games.

uni@donga.com