[APBC] Korea's fate-hanging Taiwan match: Starting lineup announced, "Sudden leadoff placement of Samsung winning member Kim Ji-chan, Kim Do-young in the 2nd spot"... The scenarios for "advancing to the final" are simple

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Korean national baseball team participating in the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) has announced its starting lineup ahead of a decisive match against Taiwan.

The Korean national baseball team, led by Manager Choi Won-ho, will play its third preliminary game of the 2026 APBC tournament against Taiwan at 7 p.m. on the 14th at Tokyo Dome in Japan.

On this day, Korea arranged its starting batting order as follows: Kim Ji-chan (center fielder), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Kim Ju-won (shortstop), Han Dong-hee (first baseman), Kim Hwi-jip (second baseman), Ahn Hyun-min (right fielder), Ahn Jae-seok (designated hitter), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), and Park Jae-hyun (left fielder).

A change in the leadoff spot is noticeable. Kim Ju-won (NC Dinos), who had started as the leadoff hitter against Australia and Japan, moved down to the third spot.

On the other hand, Kim Ji-chan, who started in the ninth batting position in the game against Japan and performed with two hits in four at-bats, was suddenly placed in the leadoff spot.

Kim Do-young will bat second. The cleanup trio consists of Han Dong-hee (Lotte Giants) and Kim Hwi-jip (NC Dinos), along with Kim Ju-won.

With Ahn Hyun-min (KT Wiz) positioned in the sixth batting order, the lower half of the lineup follows in the order of Ahn Jae-seok (Doosan Bears), Jo Hyung-woo (SSG Landers), and Park Jae-hyun (KIA Tigers). This is the first time Park Jae-hyun has started a game. Korea's starting pitcher is Lee Ro-yoon (SSG).

Korea suffered a shocking 7-8 loss in its first game against Australia on the 12th. Following that, it lost 5-9 in the Korea-Japan match held the previous day (the 13th), leaving the team with two losses.

Nevertheless, hope for advancing to the final has not been extinguished.

It can be considered a favorable factor that Japan secured a 16-1 seven-inning rainout victory over Australia earlier on the same day.

Japan has already clinched first place in its group with three wins in three games. Australia stands at one win and two losses.

If Korea defeats Taiwan, Korea, Taiwan, and Australia will all record identical records of one win and two losses.

In the event of a tie in wins and losses, Korea leads in TQB (Team Quality Balance), which is calculated as (runs scored/offensive innings) minus (runs allowed/defensive innings), allowing it to advance to the final as the second-place team. If it advances to the final, another Korea-Japan match will be held.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original