Kim Byung-hyun to Pitch Against Mexico

The Korean national baseball team will face Mexico next in the World Baseball Classic’s main round after a preliminary match for Group B held yesterday in Phoenix, Arizona between Mexico and Canada ended in a 9-1 Mexico victory.

The U.S. team, on the brink of elimination when it lost 8-6 to Canada a day earlier, can now let out a sigh of relief as Mexico locked the top spot of the group. If the U.S. defeats South Africa on March 11, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. will all be tied with two wins and one loss each. But the U.S. will take second place in the group because it leads Canada in runs allowed.

Group A leader Korea will face Mexico on March 13 in Anaheim, California. The match against the U.S. will be held on March 14, followed by a match against Japan two days later.

Korean team manager Kim In-sik was surprised to hear that Mexico took the lead in Group A. He also expressed that his winning strategy is all in his pitchers. “Mexico has a strong pitching staff. But our batters can hit too. Much depends on our sidearm pitchers Kim Byung-hyun (Colorado) and Chong Dae-hyun (SK),” said Kim.

In Group C, Cuba and Puerto Rico advanced to the main round; in Group D, Dominican Republic and Venezuela advanced.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com