Last year, the Taiwan national baseball team, which won the championship by defeating South Korea and Japan in the Premier12, faced a shocking defeat at home. It's a huge upset.

Led by manager Cheng Hao-Ju, Taiwan lost 5-12 to Spain in the first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) qualifying round held at the Taipei Dome on the 21st (Korean time). The team allowed 15 hits at home at the Taipei Dome, and both the pitching and batting underperformed.

Taiwan won the Premier12 held in November last year after defeating South Korea 6-3 in the first qualifying match and then beating Japan, which had a 27-game international winning streak, 4-0 in the final. It was Taiwan's first victory in a major baseball tournament, marking a national event.

Riding that momentum, Taiwan began the WBC qualifying match at home in Taipei, but suffered an unbelievable defeat in their first game. They were caught off guard by Spain, a baseball underdeveloped nation in Europe, with disappointingly poor performances both offensively and defensively.

Taiwan's underhand pitcher Chen Yu-Hong started the game, but right from the beginning of the first inning, they gave up 2 runs after allowing 3 hits. Taiwan started using their bullpen in the second inning, but the second pitcher Lu Yongqian allowed 3 consecutive hits and gave up another 2 runs in the third inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, Zhang Yu-Cheng hit a two-run home run to retaliate, but they allowed 6 runs in a big inning in the top of the fifth inning, turning the game in Spain's favor. Spain scored 6 runs off 4 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit-by-pitches in one turn at bat. Taiwanese pitcher Lu Yanqing struggled with his control, giving up consecutive scoring on walks and hit-by-pitches with 2 outs and the bases loaded.

Spain extended their lead to 12-2 in the top of the sixth with Gabriel Lino's two-run home run. Taiwan was only able to avoid a cold game with a run-scoring single by Zhang Xiao-Heng in the bottom of the seventh. They added 2 more runs in the bottom of the ninth but could not turn the game around.

Spain's second pitcher Ramon Rosso earned the victory with a stellar performance, throwing 3⅓ innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, striking out 7, and not allowing any runs. Offensively, Wander Encarnacion went 5-for-3 with 2 RBIs, Jesus Ustariz went 5-for-3 with 1 RBI, and Rosber Estrada went 4-for-2 with 3 RBIs, as the 3-5 lineup erupted.

In fact, there is only one player from the home team in this Spanish national team. There are 10 from Venezuela, 9 from the Dominican Republic, 6 from Cuba, and 1 each from Colombia and the United States, making most of the players from Latin America. While they are not pure European players, it is astonishing that Taiwan, which gained momentum from their Premier12 victory last year, collapsed so helplessly at home.

After suffering a shock defeat in the first game, Taiwan aims for their first win against South Africa on the 22nd. Spain will seek to extend their winning streak against Nicaragua. Nicaragua won 2-1 in their first game against South Africa on the 21st, with Ronald Rivera's walk-off hit in the 10th inning.

This WBC qualifying round will be conducted in a round-robin format, with the top 2 teams earning spots in the main event to be held in March 2026. One of those teams will be placed in Group C along with South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Czech Republic.

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