Korean baseball barely reached the finals of the 2026 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) and will face Japan again for the championship.
The national team led by coach Choi Won-ho defeated Chinese Taipei 6-4 in the third game of the APBC full league held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on the 14th.
Japan advanced to the finals with all three wins, and Korea, Taiwan, and Australia were tied with 1 win and 2 losses, but Korea pushed Taiwan out and advanced to the finals according to the tied team rule formula that compares goals and conceded goals for all games in the full league.
Korea will compete with Japan for the championship at the same venue at 7 p.m. on the 15th. The final of the third consecutive tournament will be held against Korea and Japan, and it is of interest whether Korea will break its 12-game losing streak against Japan.
This year, KIA Tigers' hit product Park Jae-hyun broke the balance of 0 and led the way to victory against Taiwan.
9th batter, left fielder Park Jae-hyun, appeared as the lead batter in the bottom of the 3rd inning, pulled a fastball into the center of Taiwanese right-handed pitcher Xu Sang-sheng, and hit a straight shot that went over the right fence for the go-ahead solo shot.
Immediately after, Korea added 1 point with a timely hit by Kim Ji-chan (Samsung Lions), Kim Joo-won (NC Dinos), and Han Dong-hee (Lotte Giants) with the bases loaded and 1 out, with 3 pitches hit by the body, by the 5th batter, Kim Hwi-jip (NC), who pierced the shortstop.
With the bases loaded, Kim Joo-won was caught at home when Ahn Hyun-min (KT Wiz) grounded out to third base, but 7th designated hitter Ahn Jae-seok (Doosan Bears) immediately hit a clean left-field hit to make it 3-0.
Taiwan's power was also formidable.
Starting pitcher Lee Ro-woon (SSG Landers), who was struggling with 7 strikeouts and no runs through effective pace control, hit a superior solo home run to left-handed designated hitter Zeng Sheng-an in the 7th inning with one out in the 5th inning.
Lee Ro-woon, who threw 10 balls and walked the next batter, allowed the score to be tied 3-3 when first batter Jang Run-wei hit a two-run home run that hit the left stand with two outs and first base.
As soon as they returned to square one, superstar Kim Do-young (KIA) came out as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning, scooped up Taiwanese right-handed pitcher Chun Moo-heng's slider and drew a solo arch toward the right fence.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Korea ran away with a 5-3 lead thanks to Cho Hyeong-woo (SSG)'s big double that hit the center fence, followed by Park Jae-hyun's double to right-center.
After Lee Ro-woon struck out 9 and allowed 3 runs in 6 innings, Dong-wook Cho (Hanwha Eagles) allowed a solo shot to Seong-an Zeng in the 7th inning, putting Korea down 5-4.
However, Choi Jun-yong (Lotte), who came on in relief with 2 outs and runners on first base, caught Jang Run-wei with a fly ball to second base and put out the fire.
As the crisis was overcome, Moon Jeong-bin (LG Twins), who replaced Han Dong-hee as first baseman from the 4th inning, made a surprising solo arch over the left-center wall with his strength in the bottom of the 7th inning, widening the gap to 6-4 again.
Following Choi Jun-yong, who pitched 1⅓ innings without allowing any runs, Park Jung-min (Lotte) took the mound in the 9th inning and cleanly recorded 3 outs.
Jae-Hyun Park hit a hard hit with 2 hits and 2 RBI, and home run king Do-Young Kim finally hit his first home run.
◇ 2026 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) full league game 3 (14th, Tokyo Dome, Japan)
Chinese Taipei (1 win, 2 losses) 000 030 100 - 4
Korea (1 win, 2 losses) 003 011 10X - 6
△ Winning pitcher = Lee Roun (1 win) △ Save pitcher = Park Jung-min (1 save)
△ Losing pitcher = Cheon Moo-heung (1 loss)
△ Home run = Zeng Sheng-an 1, 2 (1 run in 5th inning, 1 run in 7th inning) Zhang Renwei 2 (2 runs in 5th inning, Taiwan)
Park Jae-hyun No. 1 (3 times, 1 point) Kim Do-young No. 1 (5th inning, 1 point) Moon Jeong-bin No. 1 (7th inning, 1 point, above, Korea)
