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Pitcher Gwak Been struggles in tuneup game against Hanshin Tigers ahead of WBC

Published: 02 Mar. 2026, 16:53 Updated: 02 Mar. 2026, 17:21

Korea's Gwak Been pitches during a tune-up game against the Hanshin Tigers at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan on March 2. [YONHAP]

Pitcher Gwak Been struggled in a tuneup game before the World Baseball Classic (WBC), allowing 3 runs over 2 innings in a 3-3 tie against the Japanese Hanshin Tigers on Monday at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, ahead of Korea’s first WBC game.

Gwak started for Korea in the WBC warmup game and threw 35 pitches. He gave up 3 hits and 1 walk. His performance comes as Korea is expected to hand the pitcher the ball for its first-round WBC game against the Czech Republic on Thursday.

He looked sharp in the first inning. Gwak needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order and struck out Koji Chikamoto. His fastball reached 156 kilometers per hour (97 miles per hour). The second inning proved more difficult after Korea built a 2-0 lead.

After recording 1 out, Gwak issued a four-pitch walk to Ukyo Maegawa. Hayato Nakagawa followed with a single to right center, putting runners on first and third. Nozomu Takatera lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1.

With 2 outs and a runner on first, Dan Onodera delivered an RBI double to left to tie the game at 2-2.

Gwak then allowed a go-ahead RBI single up the middle to Torai Fushimi with 2 outs and a runner on second. He retired Takumu Nakano on a fly ball to left to end the inning.

Gwak ended up being the only Korean pitcher to allow a run, as Noh Kyung-eun, Son Ju-young, Ko Young-pyo, Ryu Hyun-jin, Park Yeong-hyun and Kim Taek-yeon combined for seven shutout frames.

Korea's Gwak Been, right, and Kim Hye-seong react during a tune-up game against the Hanshin Tigers at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan on March 2. [YONHAP]

Korea will play its final tuneup game against the Japanese side Orix Buffaloes on Tuesday at Kyocera Dome Osaka, before going to Tokyo for the WBC.

Korea will play its first-round games in a five-team Pool C against the Czech Republic, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Australia in order. The top two teams from each of the four pools will advance to the knockout stage, set to take place in the United States.

The knockout stage starts with the quarterfinals on March 13, with the semifinals taking place on March 15 and 16. The final is scheduled on March 17.

The 2026 WBC comes after Korea failed to reach the knockout stage of the tournament in its previous three editions. The squad finished its first WBC in 2006 in third and finished runner-up in 2009, but has seen a downward trend since then, finishing ninth in 2013, 10th in 2017 and ninth again in 2023.

The team not only underperformed at the WBC but also elsewhere on the international stage, missing the podium by finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and placing fifth in the 2024 WSBC Premier12 — an international tournament featuring the 12 highest-ranked countries.

Japan, on the other hand, won the WBC in 2006, 2009 and 2023. Among Korea’s Pool C opponents, Chinese Taipei won the WBSC Premier12 in 2024. Australia beat Korea 8-7 in the 2023 WBC group stage and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Korea's first Pool C game against the Czech Republic will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Tokyo Dome.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN, YONHAP [[email protected]]