first pitch: 7:00 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Chan Ho Park vs Shunsuke Watanabe
The fate of Team USA rests in the hands of Chan Ho Park. If he can lead Korea to a second straight “upset” victory over Japan, then the Americans stand a decent chance of making it to the semifinals here at Petco Park on Saturday.
In the words of the guys at MXC, “Don’t get eliminated!”
Park is looking very good. Just struck out Ichiro with an off-speed pitch.
This game is baseball at its finest!
I really admire both of these teams. It’s too bad somebody has to go home out of Korea, Japan and the USA.
If Korea holds onto this 2-0 lead, USA is still going to have their hands full with Ollie. Especially if he gets on fire and keeps his pitch count down. He’s impossible to hit when he’s on.
That was a tremendous game. Both teams battled. Japan darned near pulled it out there at the end. I cannot wait for the games at Petco this weekend.
Geoff
I can’t wait either! I am a little disapointed we won’t be seeing Venezuela but Dominican Republic and Cuba should be a classic. The Cubans intrigue me because we can’t see them regularly in the U.S. I think its unfortunate that we never got to see Omar Linares so I am going to enjoy Yuliesky Gourriel and company.
Another strong outing by Chan Ho. I know we shouldn’t get our hopes up based on spring games but he’s been terrific.
I’m looking forward to Saturday too, I had tickets fall into my lap out of the blue so I’ll be at both games.
Blurb from today’s U-T:
‘The Padres like the right-handed bat of outfield prospect Yefri Carvajal, a 17-year old signed for $350,000 out of the Dominican Republic last year. “In my seven years here, he’s the best young Latin American hitter as a free-agent amateur who came here,” farm director Bill Byrk said.’
That’s exciting news. Does anybody know any more information about Carvajal?
Chan Ho looked great last night. Maybe representing his country will give him the confidence and desire he’s seemed to lack since he left the Dodgers. Could be good news for Padre fans. Watching last night’s crisp, fundamentally sound game was a pleasure. As an aside, my oldest son teaches school in Korea. He tells me that all of the teams are owned and named after one of the local companies. The season starts on April 6th. Tickets are nearly all general admission, first come basis, and cost $4. You are welcome to bring as much beer and food as you can consume.