"KBO's Pride" Heysus, Ohtani's 'Wrong Swing' strikeout is real!→ Becoming a winning pitcher who caught the 'big fish'

*This content was translated by AI.

The curious declaration that "Otani is just one batter" was not an empty word. "On the mound, I think I'm the best in the world," said left-hander Enmanuel de Heysus (30, Detroit Tigers), a former KBO league pitcher who expressed confidence the day before, surprised baseball fans around the world by striking out Shohei Ohtani (32, LA Dodgers), who is considered the world's best hitter in the World Baseball Classic.

Heysus pitched as the third pitcher in the bottom of the fourth inning, trailing the 2026 WBC Japan in the quarterfinals 2-5 at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida, on the 15th (Korea time), and pitched well with one hit, one walk, and three strikeouts in two ⅓ innings. The desperate crisis, which was reversed to 5-2 due to the explosion of the Japanese lineup, and Heysus' appearance became a stepping stone to lead Venezuela's counterattack, and eventually succeeded in turning the tables. Thanks to Heyesus' good blocking of the Japanese lineup, Venezuela, at 8-5, laughed.

Heysus, who took the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning when he was being dragged 2-5, handled leadoff hitter Maki Shugo with a fly ball to right field, but he sent out Sosuke Genda and Kenya Wakaski with heavy hits and walks, respectively, putting him on the verge of scoring with one out and runners on the first and second bases.

Here, Heysus faced Ohtani, but threw an 86.2 mile cutter from the ball count in favor of one ball-2 strike to induce a swing and miss, increasing the out count. Until the next Sato Teruaki, he struck out swinging and maintained the score difference.

Venezuela's bat immediately responded when Heyesus blocked Japan's additional score. In the top of the fifth inning, Mikel Garcia fired a two-run shot to chase down to the bottom of the 5-4 jaw. In the end, William Abreu's three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning made a comeback to win 8-5. Heysus, who silenced Ohtani at an important juncture, was honored as a winning pitcher.

Heysus, who is familiar to domestic baseball fans by playing for the KBO League Kiwoom Heroes in the 2024 season and KT Wiz in the 2025 season, has now proved his value by becoming a "Japanese killer" on the international stage beyond the Major League. Heysus, who was recently listed on the Detroit 40-man roster, received good reviews and even increased his chances of entering the opening roster.

On the other hand, defending champion Japan sank after failing to even qualify for the semifinals, which they had never missed in the tournament's history. Ohtani's home run in the first inning raised the momentum, but it was a painful defeat to fail to score an additional run due to the wall of KBO-born Heyesus. It was the moment when Japanese baseball, which was blocked by Heyesus, faced the "Miami disaster" of being eliminated from the quarterfinals for the first time in WBC history.

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*This content was translated by AI.