 South Korea's Lee Taek-geun, left, celebrates with teammate Lee Seung-yeop after scoring the winning run in the team's 8-7 win over the United States in the Olympic baseball opener in Beijing Wednesday. / Yonhap |
Staff Reporter
Lee Jong-wook drove home the winning run in South Korea’s dramatic 8-7 victory over the Untied States in Beijing Wednesday night, giving the country a bright start in its quest to bring home what could be the last Olympic baseball gold.
The Olympic baseball opener produced massive piles of shredded fingernails in both dugouts, with the lead changing five times and the fate of the game only determined after the second out of the final inning.
It was the Koreans who looked destined for a heartbreaker after relievers Han Ki-joo and Yoon Suk-min turned a 6-4 lead into a 7-6 deficit in the top of the ninth.
However, Jung Keun-woo led off with a double in the bottom of the ninth and reached third on a grounder by Kim Hyun-soo. Jung then scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 7-all.
Then U.S. reliever Jeff Stevens allowed Lee Taek-geun, the runner on first, to reach third on a throwing error. Jong-wook’s shallow fly to center gave Taek-geun just enough time to score the winning run.
The Koreans will play against host China Thursday, while the Americans will be looking for a rebound against the Netherlands.
It looked as if the Koreans were going to waste a productive night by their hitters, who lit up U.S. starter Brandon Knight for six runs.
The Americans, fielding a unit built mostly with top minor league prospects, attacked shaky Korean starter Bong Jung-keun aggressively out of the gate, with Jayson Nix doubling to right and scoring on a single by Matt Brown for a 1-0 lead after the top of the first.
However, Lee Dae-ho put the Koreans ahead with his two-run homer in the bottom of the second. After the Koreans added another run in the third on a wild pitch by Knight, the Americans tied the game with a two-run fifth. Mike Hessman doubled off Bong and scored on a single by Brian Barden. That was enough for Korean manager Kim Kyung-moon to yank Bong and replace him with right-hander Chong Tae-hyun, but the reliever allowed a single to Terry Tiffee that tied the game at 3-3.
The Koreans responded with three runs in the following inning on consecutive hits by Lee Yong-kyu, Lee Jin-young and Lee Seung-yeop. Chong allowed a solo shot to Nate Schierholtz, but then kept the U.S. hitters at bay as the Koreans took a 6-4 lead into the ninth.
Han gave up a solo shot to Hessman to start off the ninth and then allowed the Americans to put runners on second and third with no outs on a Taylor Teagarden single and a Barden double.
Yoon, who relieved Han, came close to rescuing his team out of the mess, striking out John Gall and getting Nix on a popper to second. However, Brown fouled off three pitches before lashing a two-run single to center.
thkim@Koreatimes.co.kr
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