Ryu Blanks Canadians

South Korea's lefty Ryu Hyun-jin celebrates after shutting out Canada in a preliminary match at the Beijing Olympics in Beijing Friday. Ryu, 21, tossed a five-hitter, while striking out five. South Korea won 1-0. / Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

Ryu Hyun-jin became the first South Korean pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in the Olympics, helping his team escape with a 1-0 win over Canada in Beijing Friday.

With Ryu spinning a five-hit gem, Jeong Keun-woo's solo homer in the top of the third proved to be enough for the men in blue, who are off to a 2-0 start in round-robin Olympic play and on course to deliver their promise to win what could be the last Olympic baseball gold.

The Koreans used a dramatic ninth-inning rally to defeat the United States in the tournament opener Wednesday, and the remainder of their game against China was rescheduled for Sunday after a rain stoppage.

Canada, which pounced China 10-0 but lost a 7-6 heartbreaker to Cuba in its following game, entered the Korean match with a must-win approach. However, the hitters never managed to figure out Ryu, the same pitcher they pounded in the Olympic qualifiers in Taiwan earlier this year.

However, the Korean hitters didn't fare much better, with Canadian starter Mike Johnson matching Ryu's brilliance over six innings.

One of Johnson's rare mistakes was the fat fastball thrown to Jeong, who connected with full extension and trotted toward first base as he watched the ball sail over the left-field fence.

The Koreans had an opportunity to build their lead in the seventh, after a walk and a throwing error to first base put runners on first and second with no outs.

However, Ko Young-min was caught stealing third. After a Jin Kab-yong grounder sent Lee Jin-young to third, Lee tried to score on a wild pitch by Canadian reliever David Davidson, but was called out at the plate.

The Koreans nearly paid for their missed opportunity in the ninth, when Ryu gave up two hits and a walk to load the bases with two outs. However, the Hanwha Eagles' ace managed to get Ryan Radmanovich on a popper to center to end the threat.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr

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