Korea hammers Czechia with a quartet of homers to open Classic campaign

TOKYO -- Korea had one goal when entering the Tokyo Dome for the World Baseball Classic this week: Be on the flight to Miami for the quarterfinals when the week is over. It’s why it celebrated every home run by pantomiming airplane wings as it rounds the bases.

On Thursday night against the fan favorite Czechia, Korea racked up some serious frequent flyer miles in an 11-4 victory.

• Box score

It started early. Czech starter Daniel Padýšak struggled with his control, giving up a hit and two walks before Bo Gyeong Moon smashed a grand slam to give Korea an early 4-0 lead that it would not surrender.

"That was my first ever WBC game playing, and my parents were so happy," Moon said afterwards. "I was told by them before the game started that they were expecting me to [go] all-out, and the result was something I deserved, so I'm so happy."

Moon’s smash was the first of four long balls for the Koreans. The Astros’ Shay Whitcomb hammered two home runs -- making a case for a big league job despite being away from the team in Tokyo -- in his World Baseball Classic debut for Korea.

“It means everything to wear the jersey, to be able to honor and represent my mom in that way,” Whitcomb said. “It is one of the greatest honors for me and such a blessing.”

Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones then capped the homer barrage with a solo shot in the eighth inning to cap off the scoring for Korea.

“Our offense should keep swinging very hard,” Korea manager Ji-Hyun Ryu said after the game -- his first WBC game as manager of the national team. “This is the message for tonight’s contest.”

With the early lead, Korea was able to play loose, pretending to be airplanes as it rounded the bases and lifting an inflatable, golden "M" to stand for Miami as players returned to the dugout.

“The players that we have are amazing,” Whitcomb said. “I mean, we can all hit. Our lineup is just insane. It's going to be a fun, fun tournament for us.”

While the final score may look lopsided, the Czechs battled fiercely -- one of the defining characteristics of this team of mostly amateurs from Central Europe. Trailing 6-0 in the fifth inning, Czechia put runners on the corners after Max Prejda was hit by a pitch and Martin Červinka singled to left field. That brought up former Orioles utility man Terrin Vavra.

Vavra may have hit just one home run in 160 big league plate appearances, but he quickly got his first inside the Tokyo Dome. That cut the score to 6-3 and gave Czechia hope that it could bounce back.

Unfortunately for the underdogs, college pitcher Michal Kovala -- one of the key arms for the nation and a hero at the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers -- couldn’t hold the line, surrendering two runs in two innings of work. He was followed by Jan Novak, another key arm, who threw one scoreless inning. They’ll likely now be unavailable for the contest against Australia, which begins in just about 14 hours from the end of this contest, but Czechia manager Pavel Chadim doesn’t regret the decision.

“We wanted to play with the best teams, face to face,” Chadim said. “We wanted to show our strong side. Never give up. And I'm so happy because after two innings, people can think that we are down and we maybe have zero chance, but I still thought the boys could come back after the eighth inning. I told Boris [Večerka], be ready for the ninth inning.”

With the lead in hand and a day off Friday before facing Japan in a massive rivalry game, Ryu quickly cycled through his bullpen, having six pitchers each throw one inning each after lifting starter Hyeong Jun So after three innings and 42 pitches. Since So threw fewer than 50 pitches, he’ll also be able to return during pool play should Ryu choose to use him.

While Korea has a day of rest, the Czechs will now face Australia in a contest that could prove vital. For the Czechs to avoid being relegated to a Qualifier in the future -- to “save the queen,” as Chadim has phrased it -- they’ll need at least one win. They’ll turn to Czech Extraliga starter Tomáš Ondra, who has been vital in the past two European Championship tournaments. A kind of Czech Greg Maddux, Ondra has a 0.84 ERA across 21 1/3 innings in that time, striking out 21 batters and walking just two.

Australia will counter with Josh Hendrickson, who was 10-5 with a 3.61 ERA for Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an MLB partner league.