WBC / Hsu Jo-hsi shines as Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks shut out Team Taiwan 4-0

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) Taiwan's national baseball team may have lost an exhibition game to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4-0 on Thursday, but Taiwanese fireballer Hsu Jo-hsi's (徐若熙) dominant performance for the Hawks gave local fans reason for hope ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Hsu, who is set to represent Taiwan in the WBC, tossed three scoreless innings for the Hawks, the defending champions of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

He threw 44 pitches and surrendered only one hit, with his fastball topping out at 99 miles per hour, tying his career high.

Thursday's exhibition at the Taipei Dome marked the right-hander's first formal game appearance in five months. Speaking after the game, Hsu said he has progressed slowly in finding his rhythm during spring training.

"Sometimes you don't get that feel back until you're in a real game," Hsu said. "I told myself to throw at 100 percent today so I could gauge whether I was truly back in game mode."

Hsu, who joined the Hawks in late December 2025 on a three-year deal worth up to US$15 million, said he started for the Japanese club on Thursday to create some chemistry with his new teammates ahead of the 2026 NPB season.

Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo praised the performance, calling it Hsu's best outing since the start of spring training, and said he will be "a tough pitcher for Team Japan to handle" during the WBC.

Meanwhile, Team Taiwan manager Tseng Hao-jiu (曾豪駒) credited the Hawks' hitters for their superior execution, noting their ability to capitalize on pitchers' mistakes.

Taiwanese batters struggled, managing only two hits in what was the team's first shutout loss across six warm-up games.

Despite the woeful performance, veteran infielder Wu Nien-ting (吳念庭), who recorded one of the team's two hits, remained confident.

"The team's overall condition isn't bad," Wu said. "We're just hoping to find our groove offensively very soon."

Team Taiwan will wrap up its domestic exhibition schedule against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at the Taipei Dome on Friday before departing for Tokyo for the WBC.