ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo/JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2023.11.20 06:51
South Korea narrowly lost to Japan in the final of the Asian Professional Baseball Championship 2023 (APBC) in overtime. He was the runner-up for the second consecutive tournament.
Korea faced Japan, the defending champion team, in the final match held at Tokyo Dome on the 19th, and lost 3-4 after a close game in overtime. This is their second straight loss by one point, following their 1-2 loss in the preliminary round on the 17th.
In a Korea-Japan match between professional players, the last time Korea defeated Japan was in 2015, when they won 4-3 in the semifinals of the Premier12. The losing streak began in the 2017 APBC preliminaries (7-8) and finals (0-7). They recorded consecutive losses in the 2019 Premier 12 Super Round (8-10) and final (3-5), and in the semi-finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (2-5). At the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, they suffered a crushing defeat 4-13. They lost 1-2 in the APBC qualifying round, which was held for the first time in six years. The Korean players renewed their determination, saying, “I want to meet Japan again in the final and avenge my revenge.” In the end, they defeated Taiwan 6-1 on the 18th and advanced to the finals.
On this day, the final game that promised revenge was held, with 41,883 people attending Tokyo Dome, just 417 people short of the full capacity (42,300 people). However, young Korean players did not waver and competed on an equal footing with Japan.
Tatsuya Imai, whom Japan appointed as the starter for the finals, is an ace with 10 wins and 5 losses and an ERA of 2.30 for the Seibu Lions this season. His maximum ball speed reaches 159km/h. On the other hand, Korean starter Kwak Bin pitched better than Imai (four innings, two runs allowed, one earned run). He successfully held off the Japanese batting lineup with five hits, six strikeouts, and one run allowed in five innings. His only run was a solo home run by Japan’s No. 4 Hidego Maki after two outs in the fifth inning.
In the batting lineup, No. 4 Roh Si-hwan hit the lead with two RBIs, a well-timed double and a double that ripped the left center field in half with one out and runners on first and second base in the third inning. Choi Ji-min, a winning bullpen card, took the mound as a relief pitcher in the 8th inning with one out and runners on 1st and 2nd base, and kept the score tied at 2-2 until the 9th inning with no runs allowed for 2/3 of the inning.
In the end, the game ended in 10 extra innings. With two outs and 3rd base in the top of the 10th inning, Korea took a one-run lead thanks to a timely hit by Yoon Dong-hee, but with two outs and bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, Makoto Kadowaki gave up a walk-off home run, resulting in a come-from-behind loss. 8 consecutive losses against Korea and Japan. I was disappointed because I had fought so hard to come so close to victory.
2023-11-20 04:07:55
#APBC #fighting #hard #Japan…Korean #baseball #loses #Joongang #Ilbo #JoongAng #Ilbo
