Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears), who shut down Taiwan's lineup without allowing a single hit, is taking the mound today (September 27) with South Korea's fifth consecutive Asian Games baseball title on the line.

Managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, South Korea will face Japan in the final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, starting at 6:30 p.m. today.

If South Korea wins, it will extend its gold medal streak to five consecutive tournaments, dating back to the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

Conversely, Japan, which defeated South Korea 5-0 in the Super Round, is aiming for its first championship in 32 years since the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.

South Korean starting pitcher Kwak laid the foundation for victory in the team's opening match of the tournament against Taiwan on September 21, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing only two walks and striking out 10 batters without giving up a hit.

Overpowering Taiwanese batters from the first inning with a fastball reaching a top speed of 157 km/h, Kwak faced a runners-on-second, no-out crisis in the third inning due to a walk and a passed ball.

However, after striking out the next two batters in succession, he delivered a flawless pitching performance through the sixth inning.

Kwak is enjoying a prime season in the KBO League this year, posting an 11-7 record with a 2.26 ERA and 186 strikeouts across 26 games, leading the league in both ERA and strikeouts.

Although he won a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, he was unable to pitch in a single game due to muscle spasms, making this his first appearance in an Asian Games final stage.

He will face Japan's lineup after five days of rest following his outing against Taiwan.

Kwak's counterpart is Japan's left-handed pitcher Shin Higuchi, who shut out the South Korean lineup for seven scoreless innings on September 25.

Higuchi attended Chiba Keizai University High School and Aichi Institute of Technology before joining the Japanese industrial league team Oji last year.

In his debut year, he ranked first in the industrial league in ERA (1.25) and helped lead his team to victory by pitching a shutout in the Intercity Baseball Tournament.

In the current tournament, he pitched six innings allowing one run against China on September 21, and hurled 92 pitches over seven scoreless innings with four hits allowed against South Korea on September 25.

Over his two appearances, he has allowed just one run while striking out 14 batters across 13 innings.

South Korea advanced to the final after defeating China 9-2 on September 26.

Even if Kwak delivers another dominant pitching performance, South Korea's batting lineup must figure out how to solve Higuchi to capture the gold medal.

Because Higuchi is making another start on just one day of rest, the key will be whether South Korea can capitalize on early scoring opportunities, unlike their previous matchup.

All eyes are on whether Kwak can overwhelm the opponent once again to complete a fifth consecutive title, or if Higuchi will block South Korea's path to the gold medal once more.

(Photo: Yonhap News)