South Korea's national baseball team has deployed its ace card for a must-win World Baseball Classic quarterfinal push. Ryu Hyun-jin of the Hanwha Eagles will take the starting mound to defeat Taiwan, a team fighting with its back against the wall.
Korea, managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, faces Taiwan in Pool C play at Tokyo Dome at noon on March 8. The matchup between Korea at 1-1 and Taiwan at 1-2 is expected to significantly impact the race for second place in the pool. After falling 8-6 to Japan in a close contest the previous day, Korea can clinch second place and a quarterfinal berth by winning its remaining games against Taiwan on March 8 and Australia on March 9.
Ryu Hyun-jin draws the start for this crucial Taiwan game. Returning to international competition for the first time in 16 years since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, he carries the heavy responsibility of leading the team to victory with a strong performance. Ryu previously anchored Korea's undefeated gold medal run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a runner-up finish at the 2009 WBC, and a gold medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
Manager Ryu Ji-hyun expressed full confidence in his starter. "Ryu Hyun-jin is the most reliable pitcher we have right now. We've prepared our strongest pitchers for today," Ryu said. "If our pitchers can go deep into games and close them out, we'll be well-positioned going into tomorrow."
Taiwan will counter with starter Gu Lin-ruiyang of the Nippon-Ham Fighters. The hard-throwing right-hander, who touches the mid-150 km/h range, joined Japanese professional baseball last year. Manager Ryu said of Gu Lin-ruiyang: "We've been expecting him since the start of our Okinawa camp. We've been preparing for him since then. The surprise is that Lin Yu-min, who we expected to appear alongside him, won't be available. But we have a general read on the relievers who'll come after him."
Kim Do-young of the KIA Tigers will start at third base. After serving as designated hitter in both the March 5 game against Czech Republic and the March 7 game against Japan, Kim will take the field for the first time in this tournament. "I've been ready to play defense whenever called upon. I have no problem going nine innings," Kim said. "My timing at the plate has been improving since yesterday, so I'm optimistic about today's game. I'm ready to bring more energy to my at-bats." Moon Bo-kyung of the LG Twins, who had been playing first base, moves to designated hitter.