Even if they lost, they should have at least lost after fighting on equal footing. But that was not the case. Taiwan, which had been riding high after winning the 2024 Premier12, now faces the prospect of a very early elimination.
Taiwan was completely crushed, losing 0-13 by a 7th-inning mercy rule in its first-round Pool C matchup with Japan in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Tokyo Dome on the 6th. With this, Taiwan suffered a huge defeat by Japan following the loss to Australia and now carries a group-round record of two losses. It has been pushed to the brink of quick elimination.
Taiwan lost 0-3 to Australia in its opening game on the previous day (the 5th). It was a shocking defeat. Carrying the title of 2024 Premier12 champion and backed by the support of some 40,000 Taiwanese fans, they had expected a convincing win over Australia but instead suffered a complete loss. The lineup Taiwan took pride in was silenced with just three hits.
Facing Japan presented steep obstacles for Taiwan. They had to face Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yamamoto Yoshinobu. Taiwan started with Jeong Ha-o-chun as their starting pitcher. Even in the first inning Taiwan's flow looked acceptable. In the first, after giving up a double to Ohtani and finding themselves at one out with a runner on third, Jeong Ha-o-chun used a 155 km/h fastball to navigate the danger.
However, from the second inning Taiwan was pummeled. It began in the second when Taiwan issued a walk to Murakami Munetaka, creating a bases-loaded threat. With no outs and the bases loaded, they got Wakatsuki Kenya on a catcher foul pop, but they could not get past Ohtani. Ohtani hit a grand slam. But that was just the beginning.
After that, Japan's indiscriminate bombardment began. After issuing a walk to Suzuki Seiya, they surrendered a run-scoring triple down the middle to Yoshida Masataka. Later, in another bases-loaded, two-out situation, they yielded an RBI double to Genda Sosuke and another RBI single to Ohtani, giving up 10 runs in the second inning alone.
After that Taiwan effectively entered surrender mode. After starter Jeong Ha-o-chun in the second, they brought in Hou Zuwei, and in the third they put in Sa Tzu-cheng, but the situation did not change. Sa Tzu-cheng struggled, but Taiwan managed the game without replacing pitchers. In the third, with no outs and runners on first and second, they allowed a run-scoring hit to Okamoko Kazuma up the middle, and with two outs and runners on second and third they also gave up an RBI single to Genda Sosuke, widening the gap to 0-13.
Taiwan essentially relaxed and managed the pitching staff while preparing for the upcoming game with Korea. In addition, the silence that had produced only three hits against Australia carried over into the Japan game. Although the game flow shifted early, aside from five walks and one hit by pitch, they failed to record hits. The humiliation of a no-hitter continued, but in the sixth inning Chang Wei-cheng produced an infield single to avoid that humiliation.
However, the game continued without Taiwan scoring. They did not allow additional runs to Japan, but ultimately could not avoid the conditions for a 7th-inning mercy rule.
Now Taiwan faces the threat of very early elimination with two losses. Tomorrow (the 7th) at noon they will play Czech Republic, and for Taiwan the match against Korea is literally a do-or-die encounter on the brink of the cliff. For Taiwan, the Korea game has become the final battle they cannot afford to lose.
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