Israel Takes First Warmup Game in Seoul
Team Israel managed to come away with a 5–2 win over the Korean Police Baseball Team — a team in the second tier of the Futures League (minor leagues of KBO).
New York Mets’ minor league infielder Ty Kelly lead the team to victory with a solo home run and three runs batted in. Ike Davis and Cody Decker also drove in runs.
Team Israel had Jason Marquis — who will start Game 1 against South Korea on Monday — on the mound, as he topped out at 87 mph, while mixing in a steady diet of sliders, changeups and curveballs. The 38-year-old veteran threw two innings of shutout ball, as the only runner to reach base off of him was on a leadoff walk in the first inning.
Israeli pitching was solid for the first three innings, but Dylan Axelrod had a little hiccup in the fourth inning. Up 3–0, Axelrod allowed two runs, making it a slim 3–2 lead.
However, Israel responded with two runs in the seventh inning. A double to right field later in the game from Ty Kelly made the game 5–2 and that was the final score. Axelrod was the only Team Israel arm to surrender a run, as five Israel pitchers combined to record five scoreless innings from the fifth inning on.
