Venezuelan fireballer Delvis Pacheco started his CPBL career as a Macoto Cobra with a bang by holding a powerful Brother Elephant attack to two runs on five hits in as many innings en route to a 7-4 victory on Friday.
The newly arrived hurler pitched four scoreless frames before yielding a pair of runs in the fifth with a lively slider to complement his solid fastball, clocked just past 140kph.
Designated hitter Cheng Jing-yi's bases-clearing double in the top of the fifth would give the visiting Cobras a comfortable 6-0 lead before the defending champs got on the board with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Cheng's 4-for-5 night with a season-high four RBI's made him the unanimous choice for the game-MVP honor.
Panamanian sensation Miguel Martinez did not look sharp in his first game back as a starter since being deactivated earlier in April to make room for Japanese veteran Yokota Hisanori. Martinez surrendered six runs, all of which were earned, on nine hits and three walks in five innings of work.
Saturday night's series finale in Hsinchuang had the Cobras holding onto a slim 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth before back-to-back homers by Elephant sluggers Chen "the Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan and "Chia-Chia" Peng Cheng-ming (彭政閔) turned the tide against the hapless snakes.
American right-hander Jonathan Hurst went the distance for the Elephants in a valiant three-hit gem to record his fifth win of the season. His counterpart Lin Ying-jeh saw his shutout and victory slip away as Chen's two-run blast sailed over the left-center fence.
With their 3-1 record against the Cobras for the series, the Elephants leaped past their rivals to reclaim the top spot in the latest league standing by a half-game margin in what promises to be a tight race for the first-half title.
The La New Bears finally put a stop to their losing skid at twelve as they exploded for nine runs on Sunday afternoon against the Chinatrust Whales in Kaohsiung by a 9-3 final. It was the Bears' first win since April 4.
Set-up man Lee Fong-hua pitched seven strong innings in his first starting role of the season and might have earned himself a spot on the starting rotation with his one-run, four-hit outing. The move to start Lee was the latest change implemented by Ohda.
The President Lions successfully avoided a three-game sweep by shutting out the Bulls in a 4-0 decision on Sunday.
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