*This content was translated by AI.
With native aces falling out of the national team due to string injuries, Dane Dunning (32, Seattle Mariners), who first played with the national flag, showed good performance on the mound.
Dunning started in the official 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) warm-up match against the NPB Orix Buffaloes at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on the 3rd and recorded 3 hits and 1 strikeout and no runs in 3 innings. The total number of pitches was 37.
Recently, the Korean national team's pitching staff has been suffering from a series of injuries. Won Tae-in (Samsung) and Moon Dong-joo (Hanwha), who had high expectations for the national team's one-two punch, were eliminated due to injuries. On the previous day (2nd), Kwak Bin (Doosan) was shaken by three runs in two innings in a warm-up match against the Hanshin Tigers.
Under these circumstances, right-hander Dunning made his debut in the national flag. It could have been a bit of a pressure, but Dunning silently threw his ball.
Dunning was born to an American father and a Korean mother. His mother has a Korean name, Missou. In the last 2023 season, he helped the Texas Rangers win the World Series. On this day, Dunning was so powerful that he broke the bat of Orix batters four times.
Dunning allowed the first batter, Mune Yuma, to hit a heavy hit in the bottom of the first inning. However, he overcame the crisis by hitting all subsequent batters. He deleted the first inning by throwing out Ryoma Nishikawa to right field, striking out Kotaro Kurebayashi, and thinning out Ryo Otari with a groundout in front of second base.
Dunning, who took the mound in the bottom of the second inning, threw leadoff hitter Bob Seymour out with a fly ball to center field. Dunning then gave up a double to Daishi Hirooka. However, he continued his scoreless streak by catching Keita Nakagawa and Ryoo Sugisawa with a ground ball in front of shortstop and a fly ball to center field, respectively.
The fielders didn't help in the bottom of the third. an error in one's hand. Still, Dunning threw his ball unshakable. The leadoff hitter Fukunaga Sho's ball headed to Kim Joo-won. After the catch, he threw toward the first base, but he passed the height of first baseman Moon Bo-kyung and became second base with no outs. Kim Hye-sung then failed to catch Yuma's ground ball, continuing the crisis of first and third base with no outs.
But that was the end of the crisis. Dunning handled Nishikawa and Kotaro side by side with an infield fly ball and caught Ryo with a ground ball in front of the shortstop. He finished his pitch without losing a point. The total number of pitches is 37. Dunning handed over the mound to Song Seung-ki before the bottom of the fourth inning.
Meanwhile, Dunning is a proven pitcher in the big leagues. In the 2023 season, at its peak, he marked 12 wins, 7 losses and an ERA of 3.70 in 35 games (26 starts) for the Texas Rangers. In particular, he contributed to the team's victory by taking three relief appearances as a bullpen in that year's World Series and throwing an overwhelming "0" ERA. However, he was released by the Atlanta Braves without making any significant results in the 2025 season, and signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners in January that included invitations to spring camps.
Earlier, Dunning said in an interview with MLB Network Radio in the U.S., "It is definitely a great honor to represent the Korean culture where my mother grew up and to represent her mother's family," adding, "I have expressed my desire to play for the Korean national team several times since many years ago." However, at the time of the 2023 WBC competition, Dunning was not able to wear the national flag because it was right after undergoing hip surgery. "I'm really excited to play as a member of the Korean WBC national team. I'm honored," he said, renewing his determination.
Earlier, national team coach Ryu Ji-hyun said, "This tournament has a limit on the number of pitches according to regulations. Therefore, there may be a game that requires two or three starting pitchers in one game, he said. "I thought Dunning was a player who could definitely play that role in 65 pitches as a starter or bullpen."
In the first round of the WBC, there is a maximum limit of 65 pitches. Then, the maximum number of pitches is limited from the quarterfinals to the maximum of 80 pitches and the maximum number of 95 pitches in games after the semifinals. Dunning can be said to be the ace resource who can take responsibility for one game most stably in the current national team. Which team will Dunning take the mound against in the first round.
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*This content was translated by AI.
