The Korean national baseball team defeated Taiwan 5–0 in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on 21.
Early in the game, Korea’s batting lineup also failed to score additional runs against Taiwan starter Lin Yi-wei.
What ultimately decided the first game was the Korean mound that shut down Taiwan’s batters.
3-Line Summary
1. Korea defeated Taiwan 5–0.
2. Kwak Bin pitched 6 innings, allowing no hits and recording 10 strikeouts.
3. Taiwan’s first hit in the 9th inning prevented a team no-hitter.
Kwak Bin’s 6 Innings Left Taiwan’s Batters Without a Hit
On 21, Korea shut out Taiwan in the first game of Group B in the baseball group stage of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Starting pitcher Kwak Bin allowed no hits over 6 innings and struck out 10 while giving up 2 walks.
There were threats, but they did not lead to runs. After walking leadoff batter Gao Yu-wei in the top of the 3rd and sending the runner to 2nd on a passed ball, Kwak Bin retired the subsequent batters to end the inning. He also allowed a runner on a walk in the 5th, but escaped with a strikeout and a groundout.
Kwak Bin had thrown 90 pitches through the 6th. Korea brought in Jo Byung-hyun starting in the 7th, and Jo continued the momentum by pitching the 7th–8th without allowing a hit or a walk. The starter’s extended hitless outing combined with the bullpen’s consecutive scoreless innings, and Taiwan’s lineup could not produce a hit through the 8th.
Chen Chen-wei’s Hit in the 9th Ended the No-Hitter Here
Korea also finished the game without allowing a run in the top of the 9th, but it did not reach a team no-hitter. Taiwan’s leadoff batter Chen Chen-wei, facing closer Park Young-hyun, hit a single to left with 1 out, and it was Taiwan’s first hit.
Chen Chen-wei was introduced as the only position player on Taiwan’s national team who had participated in the 2026 World Baseball Classic as a national team player. After the game, he told Taiwanese reporters that the team’s first hit could affect the atmosphere. Taiwan produced 1 more hit afterward, but Park Young-hyun recorded the final out with a strikeout with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd.
The scene also showed that a shutout win and a no-hitter are different records. Korea earned a shutout win by not allowing Taiwan to score, but it could not complete a team no-hitter after allowing 2 hits in the 9th.
Korea’s Batting Lineup Widened the Gap Starting in the 7th
Early in the game, Korea’s batting lineup struggled against Taiwan’s 20-year-old industrial league pitcher Lin Yi-wei. Korea scored 1 run first by combining Taiwan’s errors and other plays in the 2nd, but had only 1 hit through the 5th, when Lin Yi-wei was removed.
The scoring gap widened after Lin Yi-wei left the game. Korea added 4 runs in the 7th and 8th, and Yoon Dong-hee came in as a pinch-hitter in the 8th and hit a solo home run to left. The reported distance was 120m.
Kim Do-young started as the leadoff hitter and went 1-for-4, hitting a double to right-center in the 8th. After the game, Kim Do-young said, in substance, that the batting lineup needed to improve in the next game. This game against Taiwan left the batting lineup with an early task it had been unable to solve, but the pitching staff dominated the entire game and delivered Korea its first win.
References
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