Padres' S. Korean pitcher Go Woo-suk to make homecoming appearance vs. ex-KBO team

Published : Mar 18, 2024 - 10:52 Updated : Mar 18, 2024 - 10:52

Go Woo-suk of the San Diego Padres awaits the start of an exhibition game against the South Korean national team at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)

Go Woo-suk, the South Korean relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres, will make an appearance against his former Korea Baseball Organization club LG Twins on Monday, his manager said.

Mike Shildt said Go, former closer with the Twins, will likely make an appearance in middle innings when the Padres take on the South Korean team in an exhibition game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

It will be the second exhibition game for the Padres here before they play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the season-opening Seoul Series on Wednesday and Thursday.

"He's going to pitch today, which is exciting," Shildt said at his pregame press conference. "He's fired up about competing against his former team. I'm sure there's a lot of different emotions for him today."

Go did not make an appearance when the Padres defeated the South Korean national team 1-0 on Sunday.

Go signed a two-year contract with the Padres in January, after having been one of the KBO's top closers over the past handful of years. He's had some ups and downs in his first spring training so far, and has a 12.46 ERA in 4 1/3 innings after a particularly rough outing against the Los Angeles Angels earlier this month.

Go is part of the Padres' 31-man traveling squad, which will be trimmed to 26 players before the start of the regular season here.

Robert Suarez closed out Sunday's victory and appears to have the inside track on the closer job. Yuki Matsui, former star closer in Nippon Professional Baseball who also signed with the Padres in the offseason, could also get some save opportunities. And then there's also Wandy Peralta, a veteran lefty who signed a four-year contract in February.

"Suarez was able to nail it down yesterday. He's obviously a good choice," Shildt said. "Peralta is a guy that's not overly splitty. Yuki's still getting his footing. So there's opportunities for guys throughout the course of the season, but I think we're in pretty good shape to have choices." (Yonhap)