WBC / 2026 WBC: Fireballer Hsu to start in Taiwan's must-win WBC opener

Tokyo, March 4 (CNA) Hsu Jo-hsi (徐若熙) will start Team Taiwan's World Baseball Classic (WBC) opener Thursday against Australia, a game Taiwan likely has to win if it hopes to advance in the tournament, manager Tseng Hao-jiu (曾豪駒) announced Wednesday.

The 25-year-old right-hander who signed with a Japanese pro team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, in December, was tapped because he was the best-prepared pitcher on the roster, Tseng said at a press event in Tokyo.

Hsu has also shown poise and controlled the tempo in previous big-game outings, Tseng said, adding that he looked forward to him delivering a strong performance Thursday.

At the same press event, Hsu described Thursday's game as bigger than any single player, but he said he would try to relax and remind himself that he simply had to do his job and compete as best he could on Thursday.

In his final preparation for the opener, Hsu said he threw in the bullpen during Taiwan's warm-up game against the Hawks' farm team in Miyazaki on Tuesday and made some adjustments to his breaking ball but otherwise felt fine.

During a previous exhibition game between Taiwan's team and the Hawks in Taipei on Feb. 26, Hsu threw three scoreless innings for the Japanese team.

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

He gave up only one hit as his fastball topped out at 99 mph, tying his career high, in a game in which the defending Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) champions beat Team Taiwan 4-0.

In 2025 in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Hsu tossed 114 innings in 19 starts and fanned 120 batters with a 2.05 ERA, the lowest among all local players.

The fireballer declared international free agency in late October and was pursued by several teams in both the NPB and Major League Baseball (MLB) before he signed with the Hawks in late December 2025 on a three-year deal worth up to US$15 million.

Meanwhile, Dave Nilsson, manager of the Australian team, said his team is calling on 29-year-old lefty Alex Wells to face Taiwan.

Wells pitched in the major leagues for the Baltimore Orioles in 2021 and 2022, and had a 2-3 record in 13 games, eight of them as a starter, with a 6.60 ERA.

He currently plays for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League.

In his past two seasons, Wells started 19 games and pitched 108 innings. He struck out 101 batters and had a 2.41 ERA and an 11-4 record.

Wells pitched in a league game for the Blue Sox as recently as Jan. 15.

After the opener against Australia, Taiwan's team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, will come up against Samurai Japan on Friday evening, the Czech Republic on Saturday morning, and South Korea on Sunday morning.

Only the top two teams from the five-team group will advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida.