[an official announcement] Go Young-pyo starts the match between Korea and Japan, which is destined for a great victory of 13-0! Korea-Japan match MLB '1000K' facing left-hander Kikuchi

*This content was translated by AI.

The biggest big match in the first round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals, and a "special submarine" to take charge of Korea-Japan match's mound, have been decided. The main character is Ko Young-pyo (35, KT Wiz) of KT Wiz. Japan's "major league veteran" Yusei Kikuchi (LA Angels) will face an inevitable head-to-head match.

Ryu Ji-hyun (55), head coach of the Korean national baseball team, announced Ko Young-pyo as the starting pitcher for the Group C match against Japan at Tokyo Dome at 7 p.m. on the 7th.

Japan's momentum is scary. In the match against Taiwan on the 6th, Japan won a 13-0 victory with the explosive firepower of its batters, who had 13 hits. The Japanese lineup, which combines long-shot power and sophistication that bursts regardless of the upper and lower batters, proved to be a strong candidate for the championship.

Ko Young-pyo is the card the national team took out to quell Japan's "fire bat." Ko Young-pyo is a right-handed sidearm type, and it seems that he will take away Japan's batting rhythm with his main weapon, "luxury change-up." He already showed off his good side against "Japan" by pitching two runs in five innings against Japan during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In the 2025 season, he played 29 games for KT Wiz, recording 11 wins, 8 losses and a 3.30 ERA, putting on the national flag.

Japan's starting pitcher who will face Ko Young-pyo is left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (34, Los Angeles Angels), who has built a career-high 1,000 strikeouts in the Major League. Kikuchi is a "ball-type" pitcher whose main weapon is a powerful fastball and sharp slider exceeding 150 km/h.

He has played in the Major League since the 2019 season and has played for four clubs, including the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Angels, and has proved his pitching by striking out more than 1,000 in total. He started all 33 games for the Angels in the 2025 season, recording a comprehensive record of 7-11 with a 3.99 ERA.

This Korea-Japan match means more than just one win. It could be a watershed that will determine the direction of advancing to the quarterfinals, and it could be a game where the pride of Korean baseball is at stake. The key to the victory is how effectively Ko Young-pyo suppresses the unilateral cheering heat of the Tokyo Dome, which has been heated up to the fullest with a great victory against Taiwan. If we catch Japan ahead of the match against Taiwan, we can ease the burden a little.

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*This content was translated by AI.