BASEBALL/Taichung City government to host livestream party for Premier12 Taiwan-Japan game

Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) The Taichung City government will host a livestream party in front of City Hall on Saturday evening for the Premier12 game between Team Taiwan and Samurai Japan.

The event offers baseball fans who cannot attend the game, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the Taipei Dome in the capital, an alternative to enjoy the game with a large crowd.

A total of 66,000 tickets for Team Taiwan's games against Samurai Japan on Saturday and Team Australia on Sunday have sold out.

Another livestream party will be held for Team Taiwan's game on Sunday, the Taichung City government announced.

For Saturday's event, a series of activities will begin at 3 p.m., including a food street, live bands, cheerleader performances, and a lottery.

The two-day event follows a similar party held on Nov. 13 at the plaza in front of the old Taichung County Council building in the city's Fengyuan District.

On Saturday, Chen Po-ching (陳柏清) will start on the mound for Team Taiwan against Japan's Hiroto Saiki, who tossed three shutout games during the 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season for the Hanshin Tigers.

Coming into the tournament, Chen once said that he looks up to Team Taiwan's ace pitcher Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) and hopes to display the same confidence in his pitching as Lin does.

When asked about his mindset for the game, Saiki on Friday compared it to his experience at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, where 40,000 Tigers fans typically cheer for him.

"It will feel great if I can quiet the home crowd at [Taipei Dome] with my pitching," the 26-year-old pitcher said.

Japan defeated South Korea 6-3 on Friday, tying Taiwan for first place in the group with a 2-0 record.