The Korean team is on the verge of being eliminated after losing one game. The Korean Premier 12 team will have a "Guillotine Match" against Cuba.먹튀검증
South Korea lost 3-6 to Taiwan in the first Group B match of the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 at Taipei Dome in Taiwan on the 13th. Starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo gave up six runs in the bottom of the second inning after hitting a bases-loaded hit and a two-run shot. The batters chased Kim Do-young and Park Dong-won with a timely hit in the top of the fourth inning, and pinch hitter Na Seung-yeop hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to chase a three-run gap, but failed to display further afterthought.
In other Group B matches, Japan won against Australia 9-3 and the Dominican Republic won against Cuba 6-1. In this year's event, six countries will play league matches in A and B groups, with the first and second place finishers advancing to the Super Round (semi-finals) held in Tokyo, Japan, and re-playing the league. Korea is ranking second only when it secures four wins.
Against this backdrop, Korea lost to Taiwan, which had to win the first match, and was considered to be a sacrifice of one win. Korea will be able to advance to the second place only if it wins the matches against Cuba on Friday, Japan on Sunday, and the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Korea will have its second group match against Cuba, which is also suffering from one loss, at the Tianmu Stadium in Taipei on Wednesday. Cuba has starting pitcher Livan Moinello from the Softbank Hawks of the Japanese National Baseball Organization. For Korea, Kwak Bin will play.
The losing team in this game is virtually unlikely to be ranked second. In particular, South Korea still has games against Japan and the Dominican Republic, which are the best in Group B.
Korea has failed to properly target Taiwanese starting pitcher Lin Yu-min. At the match against Cuba, Korea should face Monello, who ranks first in the NPB Pacific League (1.88 ERA). It is questionable whether Korean batters, who struggled despite Taiwanese pitchers' 140 km/h balls in the latter half, will be able to handle Monello's fastballs in the middle of the 150 km/h range.
Taiwan, which gained momentum by winning the match against Korea, has a higher chance of going to Tokyo if it secures the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. Korea also lost to Taiwan 0-4 at the preliminary match of the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. It has lost three games (two wins) in recent five matches. It would be difficult to comfort Korea because the Premier 12 national team is comprised of young players. At the 2017 World Baseball Classic preliminary match, which was the most prestigious competition, Korea struggled to win 11-8 by playing overtime.
The gap between Korea and Japan widened and almost disappeared from Taiwan. When a player is beaten by a weak player, the term "devastation" came out. Considering the recent records of Taiwan and Korean baseball opponents, the defeat against Taiwan would not be considered a disaster. That much, the gap has narrowed.