Team Korea, a group of young South Korean baseball players, battled hard against the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB), but lost 2-5. MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani was silent with a no-hitter.
Team Korea, led by manager Ryu Jung-il, lost 2-5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a special game of the MLB World Tour’s Seoul Series 2024 at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the afternoon of April 18.
Team Korea’s batting order consisted of Kim Hye-sung (second baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Na Seung-yup (first baseman), Park Sung-han (shortstop), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Kim Hyung-joon (catcher), and Kim Sung-yoon (left fielder). Kwak-Bin Kwak took the mound as the starting pitcher.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ batting order was Mookie Betts (shortstop), Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Freddie Freeman (first base), Will Smith (catcher), Max Muncy (third base), Teoscar Hernandez (left field), James Outman (center field), Jason Heyward (right field), and Gavin Lux (second base). Bobby Miller was the starting pitcher.
Team Korea’s young players were unexpectedly evenly matched against the MLB’s top-ranked Los Angeles Dodgers. Starting pitcher Kwak Bin Kwak matched the Dodgers’ power with a fastball that averaged 94.6 mph (152.2 km/h) and peaked at 96.3 mph (155 km/h).
The offense responded in kind. They were overwhelmed by Miller’s command early on, but in the third inning, Kim Hye-sung shook up the Dodgers’ infield with her quick feet. After Kim stole third, pinch-hitter Kang Baek-ho hit a ball toward center field. The pitch was a little short, but Kim drove it home for the winning run.
Shohei Ohtani, who has been in the spotlight since his arrival at Incheon International Airport, was silent on this day. He went 0-for-3 with a walk. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with his team leading 5-2, Ohtani was replaced by a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded to end his day.
Ohtani had been uncharacteristically quiet in the previous day’s game against the Kiwoom Heroes. That left Ohtani with a dismal 2-for-5 record with no hits and two strikeouts in two exhibition games in South Korea.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will open the 2024 MLB Opening Day Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres on April 20th. San Diego will send Darvish Yu and the Dodgers will send Tyler Glasnow to the mound in the opener.
