'Wow' Kim Do-young and Ohtani, destiny's Korea-Japan match 'No. 1 hitter Korea-Japan match' clash! "Yeon-ta-Seok-po" Witcom 5 forward deployment

*This content was translated by AI.

The starting lineup for the doomed Korea-Japan match has been announced. While Kim Do-young (23, KIA Tigers) and Shohei Ohtani (32, LA Dodgers) were placed side by side at No. 1, Shay Witcom (28, Houston Astros), who hit consecutive home runs against the Czech Republic on the 5th, was forward-deployed from No. 6 to No. 5.

The Korean baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55), will play against Japan in the second Group C match of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan at 7 p.m. on the 7th.

Korea's starting pitcher is Ko Young-pyo (35, KT Wiz). Ko Young-pyo played 29 games for KT Wiz in the 2025 season, recording 11 wins, 8 losses and a 3.30 ERA. Japanese starting pitcher against this is left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (34, Los Angeles Angels). 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.

Korea is Kim Do-young (designated hitter, KIA Tigers)-The lineup was formed in the order of Germay Jones (left fielder, Detroit Tigers) and Lee Jung-hoo (center fielder, San Francisco Giants), Ahn Hyun-min (right fielder, KT Wiz), Shay Witcom (third baseman) and Moon Bo-kyung (first baseman, LG Twins) and Park Dong-won (FC Dinos), Kim Joo-won (striker, NC Dinos) and Kim Hye-sung (second baseman, LA Dodgers).

In response, Japan set up its starting lineup in the order of Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Kensuke Kondo (right fielder), Seiya Suzuki (center fielder), Masataka Yoshida (left fielder), Kazuma Okamoto (third baseman), Munetaka Murakami (first baseman), Shugo Maki (second baseman), Sosuke Kenda (striker) and Seishiro Sakamoto (catcher). In the match against Taiwan held the previous day (6th), only the catcher was changed to Sakamoto.

Coach Ryu Ji-hyun said of the batting order, "I referred to Kikuchi's data. It is true that right-handed hitters are advantageous in producing more hard hits (strong batting). In particular, if Kim Hye-sung gives a lot of on-base in today's game, he/she made the lineup with some expectation that the scoring route will be much more diversified."

South Korea aims to take the lead in Group C through Korea-Japan match on the day. Korean and Japanese baseball fans are paying attention to whether they will be able to open the door to victory amid the heat that will fill the Tokyo Dome.

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*This content was translated by AI.