Go Woo-suk Finally Makes MLB Debut, Allows 1 Run in 1 Inning Against Cleveland

Go Woo-suk of the Minnesota Twins has finally stepped onto a big league mound after a long journey.

Go entered the home game against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 10 (KST) as the team's fourth pitcher in the top of the 9th inning with the Twins trailing 2-4. He pitched one inning, allowing one hit (a home run), striking out one, and giving up one run.

He threw 18 pitches (9 fastballs, 6 splitters, and 3 sliders), with his fastball reaching a top speed of 95.7 mph (approximately 154 km/h).

With this appearance, Go became the 30th Korean big leaguer to play in an MLB regular-season game since Park Chan-ho in 1994.

He is the 16th Korean pitcher to do so, and the first since Yang Hyeon-jong (currently with the KIA Tigers), who appeared on the big league stage with the Texas Rangers in 2021, five years ago.

Go took the mound as the fourth pitcher of the day, following Cody Funderburk.

He faced his first batter, Daniel Schneemann, and threw a 93.6 mph (150.6 km/h) fastball for the first pitch, which missed high and outside.

He continued to battle by throwing consecutive fastballs into the strike zone, eventually inducing a groundout to first base with a splitter on his fourth pitch.

The encounter with the next batter, Patrick Bailey, was unfortunate.

Bailey hammered a 1-0 slider thrown inside, sending the ball over the right-field wall.

After giving up a home run in his MLB debut, Go did not collapse further.

He engaged in a full-count battle against Steven Kwan and struck him out swinging with a splitter on the 10th pitch.

He then induced a groundout to first base from Travis Bazzana on a two-pitch fastball to end the inning.

Minnesota failed to turn the game around in their final at-bat in the bottom of the 9th, losing 2-5.

Go, who previously served as a closer for the LG Twins in the KBO League, signed a 2+1 year contract with the San Diego Padres in 2024 for a maximum of 9.4 million dollars (approximately 14.17 billion won). However, after struggling in the minor leagues, he was traded to the Miami Marlins in May of that year.

Less than a month after the trade, he was designated for assignment (DFA) and moved to the minor leagues.

In 2025, after being released, he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. He was released again in November of that year, but signed another minor league contract with Detroit about a month later.

After being traded to Minnesota for cash earlier this month, he was added to the big league 26-man roster on July 8, and finally realized his dream in the game on July 10.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.