Japan defeated Korea 4-3 in a tense matchup between the top national teams in Asia in front of a raucus sold out crowd Sunday night at Taichung Continental Stadium that lasted nearly four hours.

Four top-shelf Japanese hurlers–Naurse Yoshihisa, Kawakami Kenshin, Iwase Hitoki, and Uehara Koji–limited Korea to 3 runs on six hits, and Japan benefitted from stellar defense as they held off a talented Korean squad for the victory.

The matchup started on a rather bizarre note when, to the chagrin of the scores of scouts and journalists in attendance, Korean manager Kim Kyung Moon swapped planned starter Ryu Jae-kuk for Left-hander Jung Byung-ho and made several significant lineup changes just before game time.

Kenshin Kawakami picked up the win in relief for the Japanese team, Japan had ten hits, with Tokyo Giants catcher Abe Shinnosuke turning in the game’s clutch offensive perfomance, knocking in an RBI single in the third and scoring the decisive fourth run in the eighth inning.

Fellow Giant Uehara Koji pounded the strike zone, pitching a perfect ninth for the save. The sold-out crowd in attendance was treated to spectacular display of pitching throughout the evening from both sides. Twenty year old Korean starter Han Ki-joo reached the mid-nineties with his fastball several times and had scouts reaching for their speed guns throughout the duration of his performance. Naruse Yoshihisa was effective and used a deceptive delivery with a quick release to keep Korean hitters off balance, and was followed by an aggressive performance from Chunichi Dragons ace Kawakami Kenshin, who used a combination of a fastball and sharp breaking slider. Iwase Hitoki and Uehara both looked polished in their relief efforts.

Offensively for the Korean team, second baseman Ko Young-min homered in the first to give the Koreans an early lead and scored two runs. Unfortunately for the Korean team however, Ko’s misplayed grounder in the second inning gave Japan an extra run, giving them a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish. On the defensive end for the Japanese team, shortstop Kawasaki Munenori made a dazzling diving stop at shortstop and showed fantastic defensive instincts througout the evening.

All in all, the game was a treat for all those in attendance, with fans getting a spectacular game and a machine-like Japanese squad.