Seoul: South Korean pitcher Gwak Been got a measure of redemption against the Czech Republic on Saturday, tossing two shutout innings in Seoul to help his team to a 3-0 win in the teams' exhibition game.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Gwak had previously been charged with two earned runs on two hits in 1 1/3 innings against the Czechs at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March 2023, a performance that left a bitter taste in the right-hander's mouth. Despite the previous outcome, Gwak's performance was impacted by reliever Jeong Cheol-won, who allowed both of Gwak's runners to score with a double.

Gwak emphasized that he was not seeking revenge on Saturday. "I wasn't as good of a pitcher as I am today," Gwak said. "So I didn't really care about what happened back then. Honestly, I pitched well in that game until I gave up a couple of late hits, and I don't think I performed that poorly."

Discussing his improvement, Gwak mentioned, "I think I am a better pitcher in terms of technique, and I have more conviction in my velocity." In the 2023 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, Gwak achieved career bests with 12 wins and a 2.90 ERA. He then tied for the KBO lead in 2024 with 15 wins.

This year, Gwak was limited to 19 starts and five wins due to an oblique injury. However, when healthy, Gwak remains one of the hardest-throwing starters in the KBO, a pitcher the national team is likely to rely on for critical games at next year's WBC.

South Korea is set to play the Czech Republic again Sunday before heading to Tokyo to face Japan in two games next weekend. "Our goal is to win all four games this month," Gwak said. "I'd love to pitch against Japan next week."

During the game, Gwak hit the leadoff man, Vojtech Mensik, after getting two strikes but retired the next six batters, striking out four and forcing two groundouts. The teams are using the official ball of the tournament, which Gwak noted felt more slippery than the KBO ball. "I didn't want to panic too much and tried to focus on getting the next batter out," he explained.

Gwak's fastball averaged 151.4 kilometers per hour (kph) during the season, increasing to 153 kph on Saturday, with his hardest pitch reaching 156 kph. When asked about his velocity, Gwak smiled and said, "I am more than satisfied."

Second baseman Song Sung-mun, who scored the first run with a single from the No. 3 spot, expressed satisfaction with opening the WBC tuneup games with a win. "This was our first game in quite some time, and going up against pitchers we've never seen before made things a little difficult," Song said. "Their pitches had some good movements, and it wasn't always easy to make good contact on them. But it feels good to win the first game here."