South Korea benched three starters for the Asian Professional Baseball Championship game against Japan after a seven-to-eight opening loss to Australia, STARNEWS reported.
Manager Choi Won-ho adjusted the lower half of the batting order for the second round match at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday. Kim Min-jun allowed four runs in two and one-third innings before the bullpen surrendered late leads.
Stakes at Tokyo Dome
Korea enters the contest trying to break an eleven-year winless streak in professional-level matches against Japan. The last victory came in the 2015 Premier 12 semifinals by a score of four to three.
Manager Choi’s squad dropped all four previous games in the tournament’s history across the 2017 and 2023 editions. Defeat against Australia also left the team needing a win against Japan and Taiwan to secure a spot in the finals.
Kim Jin-uk Takes the Mound
Kim Jin-uk starts for South Korea against Japan’s Kazuyuki Tamaru. The Lotte Giants left-hander finished the regular season with a seven-and-nine record and a four-point-twelve ERA across twenty-six appearances.
“He is a pitcher who can throw fastballs up to 150 kilometers per hour alongside his slider,” the team noted of the twenty-four-year-old starter. Tamaru counters for the Yomiuri Giants following an eleven-and-nine regular season with a three-point-twenty-seven ERA.
Adjusted Starting Lineup
The revised batting order features Kim Ju-won at shortstop, Kim Do-young at third base, and Ahn Hyun-min in right field. Han Dong-hee moves to designated hitter.
Heo In-seo catches, Moon Jung-bin plays first base, Kim Hwi-jike mans second, Kim Min-seok patrols left field, and Kim Ji-chan handles center field.
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