“Despite two losses,” Korea advances to the APBC final! Another Japan-Korea showdown in the final, challenging for a “first title”... Kim Do-young’s home run, Moon Jung-bin’s home run, and Lee Ro-won’s dominant pitching saved the day! Defeats Taiwan 6-4 [APBC]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Korean national baseball team defeated Taiwan to secure a spot in the final of the 2026 Asia Pro Baseball Championship (APBC). The opponent in the final is Japan. The fateful Korea-Japan match will unfold once again.

The Korean national baseball team, led by Manager Choi Won-ho, defeated the Taiwanese national team 6-4 in the third preliminary game of the 2026 APBC tournament held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 14th.

Korea suffered a shocking 7-8 loss to Australia in its first match on the 12th. It then lost 5-9 to Japan in the second match on the 13th, falling into a corner after two losses.

Although Korea suffered back-to-back losses, hope for advancing to the final had not completely vanished. The fact that Japan had previously secured a 16-1 seven-inning forfeit win over Australia earlier that same day could be considered a favorable factor.

With Japan securing first place in its group with three wins in three games, Korea’s victory over Taiwan resulted in Korea, Taiwan, and Australia all recording one win and two losses. Taiwan had previously defeated Australia 6-4.

In the event of a tie in wins and losses, Team Quality Balance (TQB), which calculates (runs scored/offensive innings) minus (runs allowed/defensive innings), is considered. Ultimately, Korea led in this metric and advanced to the final as the second-place team. The final against Japan will be held at Tokyo Dome at 7 p.m. on the 15th. Korea met Japan in the finals of the previous first and second tournaments and lost both times, resulting in two consecutive runner-up finishes.

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). Lee Ro-won was Korea’s starting pitcher.

In response, Taiwan arranged its starting lineup as follows: Chang Lun-wei (right fielder), Chang Shun-lun (second baseman), Guo Tian-xin (center fielder), Wang Nian-hao (third baseman), Ma Jie-xian (shortstop), Lin Tzu-hao (first baseman), Tseng Hsing-an (designated hitter), Chang Shang (catcher), and Lin Ja-wei (left fielder). The starting pitcher was right-handed Shu Hsiang-sheng.

Korea took the early lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Leadoff batter Park Jae-hyun attacked the fourth pitch from an unfavorable 0-2 count, drawing a solo home run over the right-field fence. Following this, Kim Ji-chan reached base on a hit-by-pitch, and after one out, both Kim Ju-won and Han Dong-hee also reached first base on consecutive hit-by-pitches. Then, Kim Hwi-jip hit a left-side RBI single to make it 2-0. It did not end there. After two outs, Ahn Jae-seok pulled out a left-side RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

However, Taiwan did not back down easily. They scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning as well. After one out, Tseng Hsing-an launched a solo home run over the right-field fence. Then, Chang Shang reached base on a walk after a ten-pitch at-bat, and after two outs, Chang Lun-wei drew a tying two-run home run over the left-field fence. The score returned to 3-3.

However, Korea had its “superstar,” Kim Do-young. Immediately following in the bottom of the fifth inning, Kim Do-young came up to bat as the leadoff hitter. The Taiwanese pitcher was Chien Wu-hung. With a 1-1 count, Kim Do-young pushed the third pitch over the right-field fence at Tokyo Dome for a solo home run. This home run allowed the Korean national team to take a 4-3 lead.

Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Korea escaped again by one run. After two outs, Jo Hyung-woo reached base on a two-base hit over the right-center field fence. Then, Park Jae-hyun slammed an RBI double into right-center field to take a 5-3 lead.

Taiwan did not stop its persistent pursuit. Korea removed starter Lee Ro-won and brought second pitcher Jo Dong-wook onto the mound. Lee Ro-won’s performance on this day was six innings (97 total pitches), three hits allowed (two home runs allowed), one walk, one hit-by-pitch, nine strikeouts, three runs allowed (three earned). Against such Jo Dong-wook, Tseng Hsing-an hit a solo home run over the right-field fence after one out. The score became 5-4, narrowing the gap to one run again.

Here, the savior who stepped up again was LG Twins slugger Moon Jung-bin. In Korea’s offensive turn in the bottom of the seventh inning, leadoff batter Kim Do-young reached base on a right-side single but failed to steal second base, causing the momentum to dip. Kim Ju-won struck out swinging on the seventh pitch. Two outs. The next batter was Moon Jung-bin. Here, Moon Jung-bin attacked Taiwanese pitcher Chien Wu-hung’s first pitch, launching a solo home run over the left-center field fence. The score became 6-4, widening the gap to two runs again. After that, Korea carefully maintained its two-run lead to secure a precious ticket to the final.

In the Korean lineup, which recorded a total of nine hits, Kim Do-young and Park Jae-hyun each contributed with two hits. Among the starting batters, excluding Han Dong-hee, who was replaced after being hit by a pitch, and Ahn Hyun-min (no hits in four at-bats), all others recorded one hit each. Following Lee Ro-won, Jo Dong-wook (two-thirds of an inning, one run allowed), Choi Jun-yong (one-third of an inning, scoreless), and Park Jung-min (one inning, scoreless) came out in succession to protect the team’s victory. Taiwan managed only four scattered hits.

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

*This content was translated by AI.View Original