Kwak Bin, 6 innings against Taiwan, no hits, no runs allowed vs. Higuchi, 7 innings, 4 hits, no runs against Korea

Kwak Bin, 6 innings against Taiwan, no hits, no runs allowed vs. Higuchi, 7 innings, 4 hits, no runs against Korea

(Nagoya = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-han = Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears), who put Taiwan's batting lineup to sleep without a single hit, will take the mound again on the 27th, hoping to win Korean baseball's fifth consecutive Asian Games title.

Korea, led by coach Ryu Ji-hyun, will play the final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games against Japan at Toyohashi Citizens Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan at 6:30 pm on this day.

If Korea wins, it will extend its gold medal streak, which has continued since the 2010 Guangzhou Games, to five in a row.

Conversely, Japan, which defeated Korea 5-0 in the super round, is aiming for its first win in 32 years since the 1994 Hiroshima Games.

Korean starting pitcher Kwak Bin laid the foundation for victory in the first game of this tournament, against Taiwan on the 21st, by allowing only 2 walks and striking out 10 over 6 innings, allowing no hits and no runs.

Kwak Bin, who overwhelmed Taiwanese batters by throwing a fastball reaching a maximum speed of 157 km/h starting from the first inning, was pushed to second base with no outs in the third inning due to a walk and foil.

However, after striking out the two subsequent batters in a row, he pitched perfectly until the 6th inning.

Kwak Bin is also at his peak in the KBO League this season, recording 11 wins and 7 losses in 26 games, an ERA of 2.26, and 186 strikeouts, leading the team in ERA and strikeouts.

Even though he won a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, he was unable to pitch in a single game due to symptoms of phlegm. He will be playing in the finals of his first Asian Games.

After the match against Taiwan, they rested five days and faced the Japanese batting lineup.

Kwak Bin's opponent is Japan's left-handed pitcher Shin Higuchi, who blocked the Korean batting line with 7 scoreless innings on the 25th.

Higuchi attended Chiba University of Economics High School and Aichi Institute of Technology before joining the Japanese baseball team Oji last year. In his first year as a member, he ranked first in social baseball ERA (1.25), and contributed to the team's victory by pitching a shutout in the Intercity Baseball Tournament.

In this tournament as well, against China on the 21st, he allowed 1 run in 6 innings, and against Korea on the 25th, he allowed 4 hits and no runs in 7 innings with 92 pitches.

In two games, he struck out 14 and gave up only 1 run in 13 innings.

Korea advanced to the finals by beating China 9-2 on the 26th. Even if Kwak Bin delivers powerful pitching again, the batting line must target Higuchi to win the gold medal.

As Higuchi is starting again after just one day of rest, the key is whether he can take advantage of scoring opportunities in the early stages, unlike in the last match.

Attention is being paid to whether Kwak Bin will once again overwhelm his opponent and complete his five-game winning streak, or whether Higuchi will once again block Korea's path to gold.