TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's baseball team faced a setback Thursday (Nov. 21) at the Tokyo Dome during the WBSC Premier12, falling 2-0 to Venezuela in their first tournament loss. Despite a strong start, Taiwan's offense struggled to capitalize on opportunities, ultimately succumbing to Venezuela's pitching prowess.
Huang Tzu-Peng (黃子鵬), Taiwan's starting pitcher, took the mound for 4.2 innings, conceding two runs on five hits while striking out three. His 56-pitch effort marked a challenging outing, with Venezuela's batters managing to find gaps in his defense. Taiwan's hitters, meanwhile, experienced difficulty connecting their seven hits into scoring opportunities, striking out 13 times against Venezuela's pitchers.
Taiwan's bullpen demonstrated resilience, with Wang Chih-Hsuan (王志煊) entering in the fifth inning and pitching 0.1 scoreless innings. Chang Yi (張奕) followed in the sixth with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Huang En-ssu (黃恩賜) took the mound in the seventh, delivering a strikeout and a double play after allowing a single. Chuang Hsin-Yen (莊昕諺) closed the game, pitching 0.2 scoreless innings, showcasing the bullpen's effective control.