The EDA Rhinos last night clinched the CPBL Taiwan Series in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to score three runs in the ninth inning of Game 6 against the Brothers Baseball Club to win 4-3 and seal their first championship title in the team’s four-year history.
The Rhinos were trailing for most of the game and were still behind 3-1 at the start of the ninth inning, but their hitters put together a late rally of four hits and one walk, and took advantage of an opposition fielding error to push three runs home, reversing the deficit and taking the 4-3 lead.
It was a bittersweet series victory for the Rhinos, since this is their first CPBL title, and will be their only one. E United Group, the club’s parent company, put the team up for sale earlier this year. Fubon Financial Holdings last month announced it would purchase the club for NT$300 million (US$9.48 million at current exchange rates.)
Photo: CNA
The new owners and EDA executives celebrated the hard-earned championship trophy with the players. Fubon will officially take over the franchise on Tuesday.
For the Brothers, it was another disappointing end to a post-season, after they also lost the Taiwan Series finals in 2014 and last year.
The Brothers got on the board first in the opening frame, when with two men on base, Chiang Chih-hsien drilled a shot off EDA starter Jared Lansford over the outfield wall for a three-run homer.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The Rhinos battled back to get one run in the fourth inning against the Brothers’ left-handed pitcher Nick Additon to make it 3-1, and it remained that way until the ninth inning.
The Brothers’ fans were on the edge of their seats throughout the late innings as they anticipated a win, which would have forced the series to a Game 7 decider.
However, at the top of the ninth frame the Rhinos pummeled Brothers’ closer Chen Hung-wen for consecutive hits by outfielder Lin Che-hsuan and pinch-hitter Chang Chien-ming.
One out later, hits by Kao Hsiao-yi and Lin Wei-ting tied up the game, then catcher Lin Kun-sheng slapped a bouncer that was mishandled by Brothers first baseman Peng Cheng-min for EDA to get three runs and go in front.
In the bottom of the ninth frame, EDA had left-handed closer Huang Sheng-hsiung took the mound to shut the door, and he got two outs before Brothers outfielder Chang Cheng-wei stroked a fly ball. EDA outfielder Lin Che-hsuan made a fantastic diving catch, and everyone thought it was end of the game, with the Rhinos players rushing out on to the field to celebrate.
However, the umpire reviewed video footage and ruled that the ball bounced, calling everyone back to their dugouts. Huang then got the third out on a grounder for a force-out at second to clinch the championship title.
“Our players were outstanding through this series, they had lots of pressure on, but always found a way to win,” EDA head coach Yeh Chun-chang said after the game. “Although we were behind in several games, I firmly believed we could come back. They did it today once again, so I gave them all the credit.”
Outfielder Lin Che-hsuan, who was selected as the MVP for the series and was overcome by emotion, said: “We did it. Most people had written us off this season, but we had confidence in ourselves and we won the title.”
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2