Manager Ryu Joong-il was also sorry for Moon Dong-ju's 102-pitch pitching, and he was responsible for the ace
Ryu Joong-il, head coach of the Korean national team, who beat Australia 3-2 in the first game of the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) qualifying round at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 16th, expressed his regret to starter Moon Dong-ju (20, Hanwha) in an interview after the game. On this day, Moon Dong-ju threw 102 pitches in five ⅔ innings, setting the stage for his victory by pitching five hits (one home run) with four walks, five strikeouts, and two runs.
Manager Ryu Joong-il said, "Moon Dong-ju took about a month off, so before the game, the number of pitches was set at 80 to 90." "After the 5th inning, it was the timing of the replacement," he said. "Moon Dong-ju said the balance was so good in the 4th to 5th innings. "I thought I could go to 100 pitches, but I'm personally sorry to make you throw a lot," he said.
Moon Dong-ju is an ace that his team Hanwha has been cherishing and protecting since joining last year. As he is a future ace who will lead the Korean baseball beyond Hanwha, he managed the inning and the number of pitches thoroughly. Due to the inning limit, this year, the season ended in 118 ⅔ innings after the game against LG in Jamsil on September 3.
Moon Dong-ju, who prepared for the Hangzhou Asian Games for a month after that, marked the beginning and end of the competition. He lost in the first preliminary match against Taiwan (three hits, one walk, three strikeouts, two runs in four innings), but he pitched well and led the gold medal by winning the final against Taiwan (three hits, seven strikeouts, no runs in six innings) on the 7th. He threw 70 and 92 pitches, respectively.
After that, I took a break for more than a month and started preparing for APBC. The match against Australia on the 16th was the first official match in 40 days, and it was difficult for Moon Dong-ju to manage his condition as he went through the rest and preparation process twice since September. After the game, Moon Dong-ju said, "It's been a long time since I threw it, so I lost my sensitivity, and it was very hard. There was certainly no power. "I had a hard feeling not only at the beginning of the game, but also at the beginning of the game," he said. "It's the first time I've thrown since I threw 10 innings at the Asian Games." "It was not easy to rest and throw, rest and throw again," he confessed.
As his ball control faltered from the first inning, he piled up runners with two walks and wild throws, and gave up one run after a timely hit by Clayton Campbell. However, in the second inning, right fielder Yoon Dong-hee helped Moon Dong-ju by preparing twice as a third base bodhisattva following a sliding catch, and he completely settled down from the third inning. The maximum speed was 154 kilometers, a little lower than usual, but the breaking ball worked well. "I threw more changeups than usual. There was a wild pitch in the first inning, but I think the changeup was good. "The curve also went in well," he said.
Moon Dong-ju, who neatly blocked the fifth inning with three outs and three strikeouts, also took the mound in the sixth inning. He threw 84 pitches until the 5th inning and was expected to be replaced, but he showed his willingness to pitch as his balance improved over the inning. "I showed my intention to throw more, so I came up in the sixth inning," he said. Due to the nature of the four-day tournament, he had to save the bullpen as much as possible.
However, in the sixth inning, he hit a solo home run over right-center field as his 150-kilometer fastball to leadoff batter Alex Hall turned into a high pitch. Choi Il-eon, the pitching coach, headed back to the mound, but Moon Dong-ju stayed without a replacement. Moon Dong-ju said, "The coach said he doesn't change the pitcher. I wasn't asking if you'd like to throw more at me. I think he was going to leave it (without replacement) from the beginning, he said.
Since then, he has two outs with two infield grounders, but gave Jesse Williams a walk after a full six-pitch count game. Moon Dong-ju looked very disappointed as the referee's hand did not go up even though his 152-kilometer fastball was caught in the body zone in the sixth pitch. As the number of pitches increased to 102 pitches, they eventually had to come down without finishing the inning.
Moon Dong-ju said, "The zone felt very narrow from side to side. "I saw a robot referee during a practice match in Korea, and it was similar to that," he said. "I didn't win individually, but I'm glad the team won. It was hard in the beginning, but catcher (Kim) Hyung-joon's lead was so good. I was able to stop it with at least a run by throwing it after seeing the lead of my brother. There is a regret that it would have been better if I came down after finishing the sixth inning. "But I did well, and the team won, so it's okay," he laughed.