S. Korea falls to Japan for 1st loss in baseball

South Korea lost to Japan 5-0 in Nagoya on Friday for its first defeat in the Asian Games baseball tournament. The four-time defending champion managed only four hits against Japan’s amateur team to open the Super Round at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium. South Korea’s Super Round record fell to 1-1, and Japan moved to 2-0.

South Korea entered the Super Round after winning all three preliminary-stage games, along with Japan, Chinese Taipei and China.

South Korea will play China on Friday, while Japan will face Chinese Taipei.

If South Korea and Japan both win Friday, they will meet for the gold medal on Sunday in Toyohashi.

If South Korea wins and Japan loses, the teams would finish 2-1 along with Chinese Taipei and go to a Team Quality Balance tiebreaker.

Published Sep 25, 2026 9:40 pm KST

Updated Sep 26, 2026 12:52 am KST

South Korean players and staff bow to the audience after losing the first match of the Super Round against Japan on Day 6 of the 20th Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, Aichi, Friday, Sept. 25. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

NAGOYA, Japan — The four-time defending champion South Korea was shut out by Japan 5-0 for its first loss in the Asian Games baseball tournament on Friday.

Made up of stars of the top domestic league, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), South Korea managed just four hits against a Japanese team of amateurs to begin the Super Round at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, some 85 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya.

Both teams had won all three matches in the preliminary stage to qualify for the Super Round, joined by Chinese Taipei and China.

Counting its win over Chinese Taipei in the group phase, South Korea's Super Round record now stands at 1-1, while Japan, which earlier beat China in the group round, improved to 2-0.

On Friday, South Korea will play China, while Japan will take on Chinese Taipei.

Should both South Korea and Japan win Friday, then they will meet for the gold medal on Sunday in Toyohashi.

However, if only South Korea wins and Japan loses to Chinese Taipei, then those three teams will finish with an identical 2-1 record. In that case, the teams will go to a tiebreaking formula called Team Quality Balance (TQB) to determine who will reach the gold medal game. TQB is the sum of runs scored divided by the number of offensive innings, minus the number of runs allowed divided by the number of defensive inning.

South Korea had no answer against the lefty starter Shin Higuchi, who scattered four hits across seven innings and struck out four.

South Korea grounded into three double plays in the loss -- by Roh Si-hwan in the first and then in the fourth inning, and Yoon Dong-hee in the fifth inning.

South Korean starter So Hyeong-jun allowed three runs on four hits in three innings of work.

With runners at first and second in the bottom third, Motoki Mukoyama doubled down the left field line to cash in Japan's first run.

After a groundout scored another Japanese run, shortstop Kim Ju-won's throwing error pushed Japan's lead to 3-0.

Reliever Jo Byeong-hyeon was charged with two runs in relief in the sixth inning.

South Korea manager Ryu Ji-hyun said he did not expect to end up in a possible tiebreaking situation.

This was the second game in which South Korea's bats were silenced by a left-handed pitcher. In the first game of the tournament, South Korea eked out just one unearned run and one hit in five innings against Lin Yi-wei of Chinese Taipei.

"We knew left-handers for both Japan and Chinese Taipei would be the aces, and we tried to prepare accordingly. The game just didn't go our way today," Ryu said. "When we were getting ready for this game, we never once thought about having to crunch numbers. We were hoping to win both games in the Super Round to get to the final."

South Korea plays against Japan in the first match of Super Round of Day 6 of the 20th Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium, Toyohashi, Aichi, Friday, Sept. 25. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

韩国队周五在名古屋以0比5负于日本队，遭遇亚运会棒球比赛的首场失利。这支四届卫冕冠军在丰桥市立棒球场举行的超级循环赛首战中，面对日本业余球队，仅击出四支安打。韩国队超级循环赛战绩变为1胜1负，而日本队则取得2胜0负的佳绩。

韩国队在赢得全部三场预赛后，与日本队、中华台北队和中国队一起晋级超级循环赛。

韩国将于周五对阵中国，而日本将迎战中华台北。

如果韩国和日本周五都获胜，他们将于周日在丰桥争夺金牌。

如果韩国队获胜而日本队输球，则韩国队、日本队和中华台北队将以 2 胜 1 负的战绩并列第一，需要通过团队实力平衡决胜负。

发布于2026年9月25日晚上9:40（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月26日凌晨12:52（韩国标准时间）

9月25日星期五，在爱知县丰桥市丰桥市立棒球场举行的第20届亚运会超级循环赛第六天的比赛中，韩国队在与日本队的首场比赛中落败后，球员和工作人员向观众鞠躬致意。（韩国时报 崔元硕 摄）

日本名古屋——四届卫冕冠军韩国队周五在亚运会棒球比赛中以0比5惨败于日本队，遭遇首场失利。

由韩国棒球组织（KBO）顶级国内联赛明星组成的韩国队，在丰桥市棒球场（位于主赛城市名古屋东南约 85 公里处）举行的超级循环赛首轮比赛中，面对一支日本业余球队，仅击出四支安打。

两队在预赛阶段均取得三连胜，晋级超级轮，与中华台北队和中国队一同晋级。

算上小组赛战胜中华台北的比赛，韩国超级循环赛的战绩为 1-1，而此前在小组赛中击败中国的日本则取得了 2-0 的战绩。

周五，韩国将对阵中国，而日本将迎战中华台北。

如果韩国和日本在周五都获胜，那么他们将在周日于丰桥争夺金牌。

然而，如果只有韩国队获胜，而日本队输给中华台北队，那么这三支队伍的战绩将均为2胜1负。在这种情况下，将采用名为“团队质量平衡”（TQB）的平局决胜公式来决定哪支队伍能够晋级决赛。TQB的计算方法是：总得分除以进攻局数，再减去总失分除以防守局数。

韩国队对左投手樋口真一毫无办法，樋口真一在七局比赛中只被击出四支安打，并送出四次三振。

韩国队在失利中三次击出双杀球——卢时焕在第一局和第四局击出双杀球，尹东熙在第五局击出双杀球。

韩国先发投手苏亨俊投了三局，被击出四支安打，失三分。

比赛进行到下半，一垒和二垒都有跑垒员，向山元树击出左外野边线二垒安打，为日本队拿下第一分。

一次滚地球出局让日本队再得一分后，游击手金柱元的传球失误让日本队的领先优势扩大到 3-0。

救援投手赵炳贤在第六局替补上场，失掉两分。

韩国队主教练柳智贤表示，他没想到比赛会进入加时赛的局面。

这是韩国队第二次被左投手压制。在本次锦标赛的首场比赛中，韩国队面对中华台北队的林义伟，五局比赛仅得到一分非自责分和一支安打。

“我们知道日本和中华台北的左撇子球员会是王牌，所以我们也做了相应的准备。只是今天比赛运气不好，”柳贤振说道。“备战这场比赛的时候，我们根本没想过要计算数据。我们当时的目标是在超级轮比赛中两战全胜，晋级决赛。”

9月25日星期五，在爱知县丰桥市丰桥市立棒球场，韩国队与日本队在第20届亚运会第六日超级循环赛的首场比赛中交锋。韩国时报崔元硕摄。