TOKYO -- First desperation, then depression.
Japan speedster Munenori Kawasaki laid down a bunt and couldn\'t beat the throw to first, and Ichiro Suzuki popped out unceremoniously for the final out, ending a series of ineptitude for the Seattle Mariners star, as Japan fell, 3-2, to Korea in the World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
Kawasaki was doing whatever he could to give Team Japan a base runner in its final at-bat, and Ichiro was hoping to redeem himself after a dismal weekend in the Classic. Ichiro had just three hits in the World Baseball Classic, with his final at-bat coming against Chan-Ho Park, against whom he was 4-for-6 with a double and a triple in 2005.
No one was harder on Ichiro than himself after Team Japan fell.
"I should feel ashamed after the defeat," Ichiro said, later adding, "If I am satisfied with these results, I should quit baseball."
After comfortable wins in its first two World Baseball Classic games, Japan led most of the way Sunday night against Korea, but Seung-Yeop Lee homered in the top of the eighth against Hirotoshi Ishii to lift his team, turning Team Japan on its ear.
Japan hadn\'t trailed in either of its previous World Baseball Classic games, routs of China and Chinese Taipei.
Japan had taken the lead in the first when Tsuyoshi Nishioka scored on a Nobuhiko Matsunaka infield single, and Munenori Kawasaki hit a solo home run in the second, adding an insurance run.
"Basically I wanted to get on base in front of Ichiro and set it up for him," Japan\'s No. 9 hitter said. "But out of that came (the home run), and it was the best."
But after Kawasaki\'s strike, Japan couldn\'t cushion its lead any more.
"The day before, our batting order was doing pretty good," Japan manager Sadaharu Oh said. "The Korean pitchers were very good today. After Kawasaki hit the home run, the pitchers we faced were very good."
So good, Japan couldn\'t recover after Lee put the Koreans ahead.
The Koreans had the bases loaded in the second against Japan starter Shunsuke Watanabe, but the submarine hurler pitched his way out of the jam, keeping Korea off the board for a bit longer.
Watanabe started losing control in the fifth, giving up a leadoff single to Jin-Man Park before plunking In-Sung Cho, Watanabe\'s second hit batsmen of the game. The runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and Park scored when Byung-Kyu Lee hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
"I was good right from the start, but I imploded out there," Watanabe said. "I left the mound and the worst was possible, because I didn\'t concentrate well enough."
Japan stranded eight runners, but no one reached base after Korea\'s Dae-Sung Koo came on in the bottom of the seventh. Japan\'s biggest opportunity came in the fourth, when Nishioka was robbed of an extra-base hit by Korean right fielder Jin-Young Lee, who dove and made a spectacular grab to leave the bases loaded.
"We don\'t get many chances, and we have to make the best of it," Oh said. "We couldn\'t score."
The momentum almost seemed to swing after Lee\'s catch, as Nishioka\'s rocket would have blown the game open and scored at least two runs, if not clearing the bases.
Ichiro, who was at first after walking in the fourth, knew Team Japan had blown a valuable chance.
"We were able to get some runs, but that\'s the kind where if you lose a chance, you really lose a chance," Ichiro said.
After losing out on a chance to really mark on Watanabe, Korea wasn\'t about to make the same mistake in the eighth. Ishii came in at the start of the eighth, but after striking out Byung-Kyu Lee, the Yakult Swallows closer never showed the form that helped him rack up 37 saves last season.
Jong-Beom Lee singled to get the eighth started, and the next batter was Lee Seung Yeop, who ruined Ishii\'s night by smacking his third World Baseball Classic home run.
Koo picked up the win, and Ishii suffered the loss for Japan.
After talking confidence all week, Oh was humble following the loss.
"There was big pressure on us to be the best in Asia," Oh said. "We don\'t have the pressure of going undefeated through the Asian round now, so it will be a big difference for the players."
Japan will leave for the United States on Monday, and will play the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres on March 8 and March 10, respectively. ', tagline: 'Stephen Ellsesser is a reporter for The Japan Times and a contributor to MLB.com.', summary: null, article_photo: { caption: 'Hirotoshi Ishii who gave up the game-winning home run to Korea\'s Seung-Yeop Lee.', credit: 'Shizuo Kambayashi/AP', path: '/images/2006/03/05/WmfvOq5g.jpg' }, sub_headline: 'Suffer its first loss of the inaugural Classic', alt_headline: 'Japan falls to Korea', related_links: null, headline: 'Japan falls to Korea' }