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South Korea’s Yoon Dong-hee celebrates after hitting his first Asian Games home run during the team’s 5-0 win over Taiwan in their opening Group B baseball game at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 21. / Yonhap

South Korea’s national baseball team moved a step closer to a fifth consecutive Asian Games title after shutting out archrival Taiwan 5-0 in a must-win matchup.

Led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, South Korea defeated Taiwan 5-0 in their opening Group B game of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 21.

The win put South Korea in a strong position to advance to the semifinals as group winner, with remaining games against Hong Kong and Thailand, both considered less formidable opponents than Taiwan.

The standout performer against Taiwan was starting pitcher Kwak Bin of the Doosan Bears. Relying on a fastball that reached 157 kph, Kwak completely shut down Taiwan’s lineup over six innings, allowing no hits and no runs while issuing just two walks and striking out 10.

One of his pitches was even clocked at 164 kph. Kwak was also a member of South Korea’s gold medal-winning team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, but did not appear in a game at the tournament because of gallbladder-related symptoms.

Ryu’s starting lineup featured Kim Do-young at third base, Moon Hyun-bin in left field, Noh Si-hwan at first base, Moon Bo-kyung as designated hitter, Kim Joo-won at shortstop, Park Joon-soon at second base, Cho Hyung-woo at catcher, Park Jae-hyun in right field and Kim Ji-chan in center field.

Taiwan starter Lin Yi-wei, who showed both velocity and precise command of his breaking pitches, limited South Korea to one hit, one walk and one unearned run over five innings.

South Korea created its first scoring opportunity in the bottom of the second inning when leadoff hitter Moon Bo-kyung reached on a throwing error by the shortstop. Kim Joo-won then singled to right, sending Moon to third.

After Park Joon-soon popped out to second, Cho Hyung-woo drew a walk to load the bases with one out.

Nineteen-year-old Park Jae-hyun then drove an outside fastball from 20-year-old Lin to left field for a sacrifice fly, earning his first RBI in international competition.

South Korea finally added more runs in the seventh against Taiwan’s second pitcher, Liu Chih-jung, who is currently unaffiliated.

As in the second inning, Moon opened the frame with a walk and Kim followed with a clean single up the middle, putting runners on first and third with no outs.

Park Joon-soon then hit a deep RBI double, and with runners on second and third, Cho added a sacrifice fly to center to extend the lead to 3-0.

South Korea added another run in the eighth when Kim Do-young doubled to right-center and Noh Si-hwan followed with a sacrifice fly.

Pinch hitter Yoon Dong-hee of the Lotte Giants then sealed the win with a towering solo home run over the left-field fence.

Kim Joo-won finished 3-for-4 at the plate.

South Korea’s combined no-hit bid ended in the ninth when Park Young-hyun of KT Wiz allowed two hits with one out. Still, Kwak, Cho Byung-hyun of SSG, who threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts, and Park combined for 15 strikeouts, overpowering Taiwan’s lineup.

South Korea will face Hong Kong in its second group-stage game at Toyohashi Stadium in Aichi Prefecture at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 22.

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Kim Do-young and Kwak Bin celebrate South Korea’s victory in a Group B baseball game against Taiwan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 21. /Yonhap

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Baseball fans cheer as South Korea scores consecutive runs against Taiwan during their opening Group B game at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 21. / Yonhap

                                                                                                          Hwang Ui-joong