Sin can do no wrong as Bulls fail to get any runs

"I am glad we got this one."

Elephants Manger Lin Yi-tseng

Nakagomi Sin of the did not disappoint Brother Elephants fans with his near-perfect outing and a 2-0 victory over the Sinon Bulls in the opener of the 2003 Taiwan Series.

Riding high on his six-game winning streak, the Japanese veteran was just one infield single shy of pitching a no-hitter.

Bulls starter Jeff Andra of the US had the support of outstanding defensive plays to keep the seven hits that he yielded from scoring more than a run.

The Elephants offense struck in the bottom of the fourth with shortstop Chen Rei-cheng's (陳瑞振) single up the middle to knock home his older brother, Elephants catcher Chen Rei-chang (陳瑞昌) from second to give his team an 1-0 lead. Chen Rei-chang had belted a two-out double off Andra to reach second on the previous play.

Taking the mound for Andra in the middle of the fifth, Bulls reliever Yu Wen-pin (余文彬) managed to keep the game close, allowing only an unearned run on three hits over three innings.

"We really had our chances at the plate as a few of our players had good wood on the ball," Bulls Manager Chen Wei-cheng (陳威成) said after the game. "Our hits were either taken away by a great defensive play or the ball was hit right at a defender."

Elephants Peng Cheng-ming and Chen Chih-yuan extended their postseason hitting streaks to 11 and six, respectively. But the Elephants' inability to come up with hits with runners on base lead to the low score.

"I am glad we got this one," Elephants Manger Lin Yi-tseng (林易增) said.

Regular-season victory champ Yokota Hisanori is scheduled to pitch Game 2 for the Elephants on Sunday.

bad gamble

The amount of money wagered by gamblers over the championship opener is believed to be over NT$1 billion.

With its return to prominence, professional baseball once again faces allegations that several games may have been fixed during the regular season.

Su Li-wei (蘇立偉) of the Chinatrust Whales admitted to betting on a game. But on Thursday he said that he "had been tricked into the false admission by the Whales officials."

Whales Manager Lin Chung-chiou (林仲秋) resigned to take responsibility for the scandal.

"The hasty acceptance of my resignation by the ball club suggests that they believe that I was also involved in fixing games," Lin said.

Whale General Manager Lin Ming-mao (林明鈿) held a press conference immediate after the story broke Tuesday, saying the team had "written proof that Su was guilty of misconduct."

The case is now being examined by investigators.