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

Source: Korea Times News