Chinese Taipei and Australia Kick Off the 2026 World Baseball Classic
The 2026 World Baseball Classic gets underway with an exciting contest between Australia and Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET. This late-night game promises to be a captivating start to the premier international baseball tournament.
Rising Star Travis Bazzana Ready to Shine
Australian infielder Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, expressed his excitement about participating in the tournament. “Growing up I always looked ahead and kind of had a vision of things I wanted to do in this game, and this was a big part of it,” Bazzana stated. “Young me would be dreaming of and now it’s here. Just got to make the most of it.”
Pool C Showdown
Chinese Taipei and Australia are joined in Pool C by baseball powerhouses Japan and South Korea, as well as Czechia, setting the stage for a competitive group stage.
Live Updates from the Game
- Bottom of the 7th: Travis Bazzana hits a solo home run, extending Australia’s lead to 3-0! The ball travelled 383 feet to right field.
- Bottom of the 5th: Robbie Perkins launches a home run, giving Australia a 2-0 advantage against Chinese Taipei. Po-Yu Chen was on the mound for Chinese Taipei.
- Top of the 3rd: Yu Chang records Chinese Taipei’s first hit of the game against Australia’s Jack O’Loughlin.
- Early Dominance: Australia’s Alex Wells has been impressive, allowing no hits through the first two innings, striking out three and walking one.
- Strong Pitching Duel: Chinese Taipei’s Jo-Hsi Hsu also delivered a hitless second inning, with 21 of his first 27 pitches being strikes and two strikeouts.
- Scoreless First: The first inning concluded with both teams unable to break the deadlock.
Lineups
Chinese Taipei
- CF – Stuart Fairchild
- DH – An-Ko Lin
- RF – Chen Chieh-hsien
- 3B – Yu Chang
- 1B – Nien-ting Wu
- SS – Kun-yu Chiang
- 2B – Tzu-wei Lin
- C – Shao-Hung Chiang
- LF – Chen-wei Chen
Australia
- 2B – Travis Bazzana
- 3B – Curtis Mead
- CF – Aaron Whitefield
- DH – Alex Hall
- SS – Jarryd Dale
- 1B – Rixon Wingrove
- C – Robbie Perkins
- LF – Chris Burke
- RF – Tim Kennelly
Pitching Matchup
Australia will start Alex Wells, a former Baltimore Orioles pitcher with MLB experience. Wells has a career record of 16-18 with a 4.28 ERA. Chinese Taipei will counter with Jo-Hsi Hsu, a CPBL veteran who has spent the last four years in the league. Hsu boasts a 16-18 record and 349 strikeouts in 305 innings pitched.
Looking Ahead in Pool C
Chinese Taipei and Australia are just two of the teams vying for a spot in the next round of the World Baseball Classic. They will face tough competition from Japan, South Korea, and Czechia in Pool C. Stay tuned for continued coverage of the tournament!
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