A capsule look at Chinese Taipei’s win against Canada

A closer look at Chinese Taipei's perfect-game, 6-0 victory over Canada

PLAY OF THE GAME -- After obtaining a decent 4-0 cushion in the third inning, Fan Chen-Jun made it feel insurmountable when he nailed a two-run shot over the left field fence to boost his team's lead to six heading into the second half of the game.

CHINESE TAIPEI PLAYER OF THE GAME -- Starting pitcher Fan Chen-Jun: Chen-Jun was a real talking point throughout this game, blowing through Canada's bats seamlessly throughout the first 3 2/3 innings. He threw nine strikeouts and 30 strikes on 35 pitches, posting a strike rate of 86%. He also pitched an immaculate inning in the third, attributing ten strikes (including one foul ball) and zero balls to strike out three batters.

On the offensive end, he nailed a pitch over the leftfield fence, increasing Chinese Taipei's lead to 6-0 heading into the fourth inning.

CANADA PLAYER OF THE GAME -- Creeson Malbeuf: After falling behind 6-0, relieving pitcher Malbeuf pitched a clean 2 1/3 innings, where he allowed just two hits and no runs.

BIG INNING -- With the game already getting away from Canada heading into the third, Chinese Taipei kept laying it on its opponent offensively. After a fly out to open the third inning, Chinese Taipei batters Lai Yu-Jun and Wu-Yun-Hsi hit back-to-back doubles before Fan Chen-Jun completed the team's highest scoring inning with a two-run homer.

BEST EFFORT -- Despite heading into the fourth inning down 6-0, Canada kept hustling on defense.

Catcher Nash Tomchuk made a miraculous catch in foul territory to secure the team's first out, third basemen Braeden McQueen secured a ground out with a great throw the first, then McQueen did the same thing two at-bats later to end Chinese Taipei's first scoreless inning of the game.

That ultimately carried into the rest of the game, as Canada gave up zero runs in the last three innings.

FLASHING LEATHER -- Until today, just seven perfect games had occurred in Little League World Series history, the last of which occurred on August 18, 2017. Canada's last batter faced a 3-2 count, but Chinese Taipei closing pitcher Cai Yuan-Hao caught him sweeping to secure the final strikeout it needed.

Through incredible pitching and occasional saves from an on-the-ball outfield, Chinese Taipei managed to become the eighth team to accomplish such a feat, allowing zero Canada players to get on base through the entire game.

WHAT THE ADULTS SAY -- "Before the game, we took this Canada team very seriously," said manager Lee Cheng-Ta through a translator. "In the past, they had beaten Chinese Taipei before and that's why we used our ace pitcher for this game. We never looked down on them and we know they're a very respectable team."

WHAT THE KIDS SAY -- "I just wanted to pay respect to our fans," said starting pitcher Fan Chen-Jun, referring to a salute he made to the crowd after his home run in the third inning.

WHAT IT MEANS -- Chinese Taipei will play the winner of Friday's matchup between Japan and Mexico on Monday. Canada will look to avoid elimination against Czech Republic on Saturday.