Taiwan’s baseball team fell to Team USA 4-2 last night, dropping to 1-5 as its Olympic nightmare in Beijing continued. They fell just short in a close game that might have been won with forward-thinking managing.
Team USA starter Brandon Knight picked up the win with 6 1/3 solid innings of work, outdueling Taiwanese starter Hsu Wen-hsiung.
Knight and Hsu traded scoreless frames through four innings until Taiwan broke the scoring drought in the top of the fifth when shortstop Lin Che-shen scored on first baseman Matt Brown’s error, giving the team a 1-0 lead.
The US responded quickly in the bottom of the 5th on Brian Barden’s RBI double to right-center field, scoring Dexter Fowler and tying the game at 1-1.
The US got to Hsu in the bottom of the sixth when US catcher Lou Marson led off the inning with a solo shot to left field, a missile that put the team up 2-1.
Shortstop Jason Donald walked, and then scored on Fowler’s double down the left field line off reliever Lee Chen-chang to make it 3-1.
Lin homered in the top of the seventh inning to pull the game within one run, but the US added an insurance run in the top of the eighth when Donald singled in outfielder John Gall, making the score 4-2.
US reliever Kevin Jepsen worked a perfect ninth to pick up the save.
Taiwan manager Hong Yi-chen continued his pattern of erratic substitution patterns and questionable bullpen management, again sticking with pitchers too long and hurting his team’s chances of victory in a winnable game. His bizarre substitution of Chiang Chien-ming for fellow outfielder Lin Che-hsuan during the fifth inning cost the team one of its few left-handed bats.
Hong will be questioned for not removing a fatigued Hsu after the fifth inning, and not putting in lefty specialist Ni Fu-te to face a string of left-handed hitters in the US lineup.
The US instead pounced on Hsu and righty sidearmer Lee in the sixth, putting the team up for good.
Out of contention for the finals, Taiwan play their final game against Canada tonight at 6pm.
In other results, Canada walked over the Netherlands 4-0, South Korea downed Cuba 7-4 and China were annihilated by Japan 10-0 after the mercy rule was invoked.
Also See: Olympic coverage
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