Darvish Fools Nobody, Korea Beats Japan Again

Now at a 5-1 clip in this World Baseball Classic tournament, Korea, like in 2006, seems to be the favorite to win it all this year.

Also like in 2006, Japan has been brought to the brink of elimination by their arch-rivals. An elimination game tonight between Japan and Cuba (whom Japan has already beaten) will decide who goes to the semi-finals.

The first inning was all it took for Korea to down Japan. Yu Darvish took the mound, and he did not look sharp, as his one weakness seems to be pitching outdoors. At PETCO Park in San Diego, it's about as wide-open as one can get.

Jeung-Keun Bong took the mound in response for the Koreans, and he was brilliant over 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up only one run on three hits. The run was courtesy of a Kosuke Fukudome single, and he later came around to score on Ichiro's ground ball.

Darvish was roughed up for 3 runs in the first inning, courtesy of leadoff man Yong-Kyu Lee's single. Lee then stole second, and Keung-Woo Jeong made a brilliant hustle play to beat out a ground ball to second. Hyun-Soo Kim's grounder brought in Lee for the first run of the game, and then Jin-Young Lee brought them both in with a base hit of his own. The score was 3-0, and Japan hadn't even blinked. Korea would not score again until the 8th, when they scratched a run out on Seibu Lions ace Hideaki Wakui.

Japan now must face Cuba tonight. A loss means elimination, while a win means a spot in the semi-finals.