With a gap of less than two games in the standings, this week's four-game series between the league-leading Brother Elephants and the second-place President Lions the outcome of the series could change the way the standings look on Monday.
Having won five of their last seven, and 13 of their past 18 contests, the Lions have quietly passed the Macoto Cobras and have emerged as a serious title contender.
Tuesday's seesaw battle in Tainan had the Lions jumping to an early 1-0 lead after just one inning of play on left fielder Lin Hung-yuan's (
The Lions' lead would be short-lived as the Elephants fought right back with a pair of runs off Lion starter Joe Davenport to take a 2-1 of their own on a sacrifice fly to deep center by third baseman Chen Huai-shan (
Not to be outdone by their northern rival, the Lions quickly evened things up at 2-all in the bottom of second when center fielder Huang Kang-lin (
In the bottom of the sixth, Lions first baseman Kao Guo-ching (
A wild pitch by Lions set-up man Chen Yang-kai (
Yokota Hisanori's four-hit, 4-1 victory in Game 2 of the series on Wednesday made the Elephants' one-run loss the night before a lot easier to take.
The former All-Star for the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball League dominated the Lions as he went the distance for the first time this season, allowing one run on four hits while striking out eight.
"Yokota had all his pitches working tonight, especially the off-speed stuff," Catcher Chen Rei-chang said after the game. "His location was outstanding, making some called strikes nearly impossible to hit."
Providing the winning hit on the Elephants offense was Chen "the Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan (
Upcoming Games
Game 3 and 4 between the Elephants and the Lions will move up to Hsinchuang tonight and Tienmu tomorrow, with the series tied at one game apiece.
How well can the Lion hitters handle the two other members of the Elephants' foreign starting trio, Jonathan Hurst and Nakagomi Sin will play a key role in how successful the Lions will be.
The Elephants must score early in the two games because Lions closer Michael Garcia has not blown a save this season.
The Cobras will look to gain ground against the Elephants in the league standings when they take on a weaker La New Bear squad in Kaohsiung over the weekend. A clean sweep by the serpents, coupled with an Elephants loss could put the Cobras in a three-way tie with the Lions and the Elephants.
The fourth-place Sinon Bulls face the Chinatrust Whales in a three-game series which began in Taichung on Thursday.
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