It has been more than 10 years since South Korea last beat Japan in a best-on-best baseball game featuring professional players.
It came in the semifinals of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 in November 2015, when South Korea rallied for a 4-3 win. After that, Japan went on to win 10 consecutive games. Japan nearly stretched that streak to 11 wins in an exhibition game last November before Kim Ju-won came to South Korea's rescue with a game-tying solo shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth at Tokyo Dome.
South Korea will take another crack at beating Japan on Saturday evening, back at the same iconic stadium in Tokyo, but with so much more at stake.
It will be the second Pool C game for both teams at the World Baseball Classic. Japan won the 2023 WBC and will begin its title defense against Chinese Taipei later Friday. South Korea defeated Czechia 11-4 behind four home runs in its opening game Thursday night and will be off Friday before the big showdown.
Japan has pulled so far ahead of South Korea in baseball in recent years that the term "rivalry" may no longer apply. Japan has been producing high-end major league talent, none bigger than the two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, a four-time MVP who is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players ever.
South Korea, on the other hand, has sent a few of its own to the majors, but they haven't moved the needle much across the Pacific.
Led by Ohtani and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate and the 2025 World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Japan is once again seen as among the title contenders this year. South Korea is merely trying to get out of the first round for the first time since 2009, and it did get off to a strong start with that overpowering win over Czechia.
South Korea manager Ryu Ji-hyun has been speaking all week about riding the good momentum built back during unofficial scrimmages in late February and official exhibition games earlier this week. While Thursday's victory exposed some lingering pitching issues, Ryu chose to focus on the positives and said, "Things are moving in the right direction offensively."
In particular, Ryu said he likes the left-right balance in his lineup this year, compared to the previous WBC teams where he'd served on the coaching staff.
In Thursday's game, right-handed sluggers Shay Whitcomb and Jahmai Jones combined for three home runs, and left-handed Moon Bo-gyeong hit another, a first-inning grand slam.
"One of the biggest challenges in putting together the roster in the past was that we didn't have enough right-handed bats," Ryu said. "As soon as I became manager last year, I started thinking about how to address that issue. Whitcomb and Jones were in that picture as we all tried to diversify our roster.
"In the past, opponents tended to have an easier time handling us because we mostly had left-handed batters," Ryu added. "But now, I think they're going to worry a little more about how to face this team."
In the aftermath of Thursday's win, South Korean players were in "bring it on" mode when discussing the Japan game.
"We're ready for a battle," Whitcomb said. "We're going to do what we do. We showed a good showing today of being able to hit the ball and pitch well. So we're going to play our game, and we're going to show up ready to fight and have confidence in our guys."
Moon admitted he admires some of the Japanese players but added, "I also want to beat those players.
"I know we've lost a few games in a row against them, and I want to do whatever it takes to win," he said.
Jones, who played with Ohtani while both were with the Los Angeles Angels in 2020, said he was looking forward to playing in front of what will likely be a sellout crowd at Tokyo Dome.
"There's going to be a lot of energy in the stadium, and I'm really excited about that," he said. "Obviously, it's a great team. I'm just looking forward to sharing a field in Japan with them and going to compete."
Captain Lee Jung-hoo had one simple wish for his team.
"I just hope we play like we did today," Lee said. "The atmosphere is going to be much different, but I hope we won't get intimidated by that and just play like we did today." (Yonhap)
