TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan defeated South Korea 5-4 in a game that featured five lead changes and required extra innings at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday afternoon, per CNA.
Taiwan relied on home runs to score all of its runs in regulation, with Yu Chang (張育成), Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲), and Stuart Fairchild providing the firepower. However, it was small-ball strategy that ultimately secured the win in the 10th inning and kept Taiwan’s hopes alive in the World Baseball Classic.
Under the tournament’s extra-inning format, each team begins with a runner on second base, a situation that worked in Taiwan’s favor. Team captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲), who broke a finger on a wild pitch in the opening game, entered as the runner.
Wearing an oversized protective mitt, the speedy Chen advanced to third on a bunt. The next batter then executed a suicide squeeze bunt, sending Chen home with a headfirst slide that beat the catcher’s tag. The play was reviewed but upheld, giving Taiwan a one-run lead.
In the bottom half of the 10th inning, South Korea adopted a similar strategy, bunting its runner to third. Kim Hye-seong was the second batter of the inning and with a 1-1 count, he slapped a pitch to first base, which was relayed home to tag out the lead runner. The play was reviewed and upheld.
South Korea was then down to its final out with Kim Do-yeong, the 2024 Korean Baseball Organization MVP, at the plate with a runner on first. He hit a high fly ball to the outfield for the final out.
Taiwan had lost all four of its previous encounters with South Korea in the World Baseball Classic prior to Sunday’s match. The victory leaves Taiwan with a 2-2 record in Group C.
Taiwan’s starting pitcher, Gu Lin Ruei-yang (古林睿煬), was dominant early, recording six outs before allowing his first single in the bottom of the third inning. He pitched into the fifth before running into trouble, issuing a walk and allowing a single before leaving the game.
Reliever Lin Wei-en (林維恩) took over and induced a double play that allowed South Korea to tie the game but ended the opponent’s first major scoring threat.
In the top of the eighth inning, Chiang Kun-yu (江坤宇) led off with a single. With two outs, Fairchild hit a two-run homer, briefly giving Taiwan the lead before the game was pushed into extra innings.
After the game, Taiwan manager Tseng Hao-jiu (曾豪駒) said he told his team to play with no regrets. “Do your best on every ball. We cannot control what happens later, just play your best,” Tseng said.
He thanked fans for their support and said the team had not specifically prepared for such an extra-inning scenario but emphasized he wanted his players to remain aggressive in the final frame.
Gu Lin told reporters he had dreamed of playing in such a game since childhood. “I watched many exciting international games for Taiwan as a child and aspired to play in one,” he said. “I had faith in myself and was happy to go into the fifth inning.”
Fairchild, who homered in back-to-back games, said he felt confident at the plate when facing South Korean pitcher Dane Dunning. “I played against him before and I know he has a slider, cutter, and two-seamer,” Fairchild said. “He hung a slider and I knew it was the pitch to swing at.”
Fairchild also praised Taiwan fans for energizing the team, noting that roughly 40,000 Taiwan supporters attended the games, effectively turning the Tokyo Dome into a home-field atmosphere.
Taiwan now needs Australia to lose its next two games, Sunday evening against Japan, and Monday against South Korea, to remain in contention. That scenario would leave Taiwan tied with Australia in the standings, with the final decision determined by tournament tiebreakers.
