Korea faced with number-crunching situation vs. Australia
Korean players walk off the field at Tokyo Dome after losing to Chinese Taipei 5-4 in Pool C action at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Sunday. Yonhap
Having dropped two straight games after an opening win at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Korea is faced with a number-crunching situation in its final first-round game against Australia set for Monday evening.
A 5-4 loss to Chinese Taipei on Sunday dropped Korea's record to 1-2 in Pool C. Only the top two teams out of five in the group will advance to the quarterfinals later this week in Miami, and Japan, the defending champion, has already secured one ticket out of Pool C.
Along with Korea, Australia (2-1) and Chinese Taipei (2-2) are still in play for that one remaining knockout spot.
If Korea wins Monday, these three countries will all finish with the same 2-2 marks. Head-to-head records involving these three teams won't resolve the deadlock, and they will need a tiebreaking formula: runs allowed divided by defensive outs recorded.
For Korea, the math itself may be simple. In order to advance, Korea must defeat Australia by at least five runs while allowing two runs or fewer. For instance, a 5-0 victory will get the job done, but a 5-1 win won't be enough.
How Korea can get there may be more complicated.
Korea started the competition with an 11-4 win over Czechia last Thursday. The hitters felt great about themselves after launching four home runs in the win, but it wasn't so much the case for the pitchers, who surrendered nine hits — just one fewer than Korea's hit total — and a home run.
Korea served up four home runs in an 8-6 loss to Japan on Saturday. The offense still showed some life by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning and outhitting Japan 9-7. But Korea also went through a three-inning stretch in which it was held without a hit and struck out seven times.
Kim Ju-won of Korea reacts after getting thrown out at home against Chinese Taipei during the teams' Pool C game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Sunday. Yonhap
On the following day, Korea managed only four hits in a loss to Chinese Taipei, with leadoff man Kim Do-yeong accounting for half of that. Korea failed to cash in after starting the bottom of the 10th inning with a runner at second base under the tournament's extra-inning rules. The pitching staff gave up three long balls in the loss.
Korea has given up the most home runs in the entire WBC tournament so far with eight.
Australia has pounded out six home runs in three games so far. In the days leading up to the WBC, Korean pitchers often spoke of powerful hitters in the Australian lineup and how they should be careful with those sluggers. Now they will get to face them with so much on stake.
Under the pitch count rules, those who throw at least 50 pitches in a game during the first round must sit out for a minimum four days, while those who toss 30 or more pitches must rest for one day. Pitchers who appear on consecutive days must also sit out for one day.
For Korea, Ko Young-pyo and Ryu Hyun-jin, starters for the past two games who each threw over 50 pitches, and Go Woo-suk, a reliever who pitched on each of the past two days, will not be available Monday.
Left-hander Son Ju-young will get the start, and then it will be all-hands-on-deck the rest of the way.
The offense also can't worry about breaking unwritten rules of baseball and offending the other team. In a typical regular-season game, a team up by four runs in the ninth inning wouldn't go for a steal, for instance. However, Korea in that same situation will have to do whatever it takes to scratch out a run.
Korea is trying to make it out of the first round for the first time since 2009.