More than 40,000 fans packed the Tokyo Dome for the opening game of Pool C at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, with the vast majority of the crowd making the trip from Taiwan to support Chinese Taipei. But the stadium was left stunned as Australia came away with a 3-0 win on home runs by Robbie Perkins and Travis Bazzana.
The victory brought back memories of Australia’s stunning 8-7 upset of Korea to open the 2023 World Baseball Classic, a result that helped propel the team all the way to the quarterfinals. Rather than the offense-heavy performance last time, however, it was the pitching that stole the show this time.
Alex Wells set the tone with three hitless innings and six strikeouts to begin the game. Jack O’Loughlin followed with three shutout frames of his own and was credited with the win. Jon Kennedy closed it out with another three scoreless innings. The trio of southpaws combined to allow just three hits and two walks while striking out nine, completely silencing the Chinese Taipei lineup.
Jo-Hsi Hsu, who signed with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks this offseason, was sharp for Chinese Taipei, showing off a lively mid-90s fastball and an impressive changeup while striking out three over four scoreless frames. He was lifted after 53 pitches, with the pitch limit for this stage of the tournament set at 65.
Following Hsu’s departure in the bottom half of the fifth, Australia immediately broke the deadlock. Rixon Wingrove was hit by a pitch on the foot to start the inning, and Perkins followed by launching a two-run home run to right-center off Po-Yu Chen to give Australia a 2-0 lead.
Chinese Taipei facilitated its first real scoring chance in the sixth as An-Ko Lin singled and Chieh-Hsien Chen was hit on the hand by a pitch to put two runners on. However, Chen, the team’s captain and the 2024 Premier12 MVP, was forced to leave the game with an injury. O’Loughlin then induced a groundout from Yu Chang to escape the jam.
Australia added an insurance run in the seventh when Bazzana — the Cleveland Guardians’ first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft — crushed a solo homer to right field off Yi Chang to make it 3-0.
With one out and two runners on in the top of the ninth, Chinese Taipei nearly tied the game when pinch-hitter Lyle Lin drove a deep fly ball to center field, but it died just short of the wall, and Aaron Whitefield made the catch on the warning track.
Moments later, Cheng-Yu Chang grounded back to Kennedy on the mound for the final out, sealing Australia’s shutout victory as Chinese Taipei’s comeback bid fell short.
Australia, 1-0, will face Czechia tomorrow before taking on Japan, then Korea on Monday in what could decide the runner-up spot in the pool.
Chinese Taipei, 0-1, must quickly regroup as it faces an uphill battle against Japan tomorrow, then close pool play against Czechia and Korea.
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Photo: Australia’s pitcher Jon Kennedy throws the ball against Taiwan in the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic game in Tokyo, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
