WBC / Taiwan facing uphill battle after 3-0 loss to Australia in WBC opener

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) Taiwan faces an uphill battle to make it to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals after losing its Pool C opener to Australia 3-0 on Thursday at the Tokyo Dome.

Despite a stellar start on the mound, Taiwan was stifled by Australian pitching and suffered the sudden departure of captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) due to injury.

The loss leaves Taiwan in a precarious position heading into Friday's matchup against defending champions Japan, with only the top two teams advancing from the group.

The game began as a pitching duel complicated by an inconsistent strike zone. The home plate umpire frequently called strikes on pitches two balls outside the zone while occasionally ruling pitches directly over the plate as balls, often in favor of the Australian side.

Among those visibly affected was Stuart Fairchild, a minor leaguer in the Cleveland Guardians organization, making his debut for Taiwan. Fairchild struck out in his first three at-bats before finally reaching base on a walk in the eighth.

In total, Taiwanese batters struck out nine times -- including six in the first three innings against Australian starter Alex Wells -- and managed only three scattered singles throughout the contest.

"It's on me that our players could not deliver as they wanted to," Taiwan manager Tseng Hao-jiu (曾豪駒) told ELTA Sports in a post-game interview. "I won't call it a failure, but we must put this behind us immediately and prepare for tomorrow."

The result overshadowed a dominant performance by Hsu Jo-hsi (徐若熙), who tossed four scoreless innings. Hsu's fastball touched 95 mph (152 kph), while his signature split-changeup was lethal, inducing six swings-and-misses on 10 swings.

However, Australia's power eventually broke the deadlock. Robbie Perkins -- the 2025 Australian Baseball League home run leader -- put Australia ahead with a two-run homer to right-center in the bottom of the fifth.

Travis Bazzana, MLB's No. 20 overall prospect, later added an insurance run with a solo blast in the seventh.

Adding injury to insult, captain Chen Chieh-hsien was forced to exit the game in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch on his left hand. Chen, who started in right field and batted third, was seen icing his fingers in the dugout shortly after.

According to the team physician, Chen suffered a distal fracture in his left index finger. The finger has been immobilized in a cast, and the medical staff is accompanying him to a local hospital for further evaluation.

The team will provide further updates as they become available.

With powerhouse Japan favored to sweep the group, Taiwan now has almost no margin for error. Under strict WBC pitch count rules, the team must navigate its remaining three games perfectly to stay alive.

Veteran commentator Tseng Wen-cheng (曾文誠) suggested during the ELTA Sports broadcast that while Taiwan needs wins, they should be wary of "overinvesting" in Friday's clash against Japan.

"While the original plan might have been to concede the Japan game to save arms, over-extending now could jeopardize our must-win games against the Czech Republic and South Korea," Tseng noted.

"We should stick to our CPBL-based pitchers on Friday and play with the mindset of simply enjoying the challenge," he said.