South Korea rallied in the bottom of the ninth to tie Japan 7-7 in their second exhibition baseball game at Tokyo Dome on November 16. The bullpen's control issues persisted from the previous day's loss, but a dramatic solo home run salvaged the tie. The games, hosted by the KBO, aim to prepare young players for international rules ahead of the World Baseball Classic.
The second exhibition game between South Korea and Japan took place at Tokyo Dome on November 16. South Korea took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third with Song Sung-mun's two-run single and a double steal. Starter Jeong Woo-joo pitched three hitless innings with four strikeouts, but the bullpen faltered starting in the fourth.
Oh Won-seok faced a double and walk in the top of the fourth, allowing Sasaki's single and another walk to make it 3-2. Jo Byeong-hyeon then walked in the tying run. South Korea regained the lead at 4-3 in the bottom half on Shin Min-jae's RBI single, but Japan surged to 6-4 in the fifth on walks by Jo and Kim Young-woo, plus hits.
In the bottom seventh, Park Dong-won's sacrifice fly made it 6-5, and Ahn Hyun-min's solo homer in the eighth narrowed it to 7-6 after Japan added two in the top eighth on Bae Chan-seung's walks and a single. Kim Ju-won tied the game at 7-7 with a solo homer off Taisei Ota in the bottom ninth, and Kim Young-woong struck out to end it.
South Korea's bullpen issued 11 walks in six innings against six hits, including four with the bases loaded. Across both games, they walked 21 batters in 17 innings. Japanese pitchers issued seven walks but escaped jams better. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun urged his hard-throwing pitchers to mix in secondary pitches more.
The KBO organized these games, including two prior ones against the Czech Republic, to expose young players to international rules without the automated ball-strike system ahead of the WBC. South Korean pitchers struggled with tight human umpire zones after relying on ABS in the KBO, as seen in Jo Byeong-hyeon's three walks in one inning.