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Cobras take 1st-half crown

Cobras players prepare to throw their coach, Kuo Tai-yuan, into the air in Chiayi on Thursday after they defeated the Bulls 4-0 in a one-game playoff to win the first-half title in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League. PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

With the first-half title on the line in a one-game playoff situation, the Macoto Cobras dominated the Sinon Bulls in a 4-0 shutout victory at Chiayi on Thursday night for their first-ever regular season crown.

The serpents could have won the first-half title outright with a win over the President Lions in Tainan on June 30. But a ninth-inning collapse by the Cobras bullpen blew a 1-0 lead that eventually ended in a 2-1 loss to give them and the Bulls n identical records (28-20-2), forcing the one-game playoff.

On Thursday, neither club could score through the first five innings, with the Bulls being kept in complete check by Cobras starter Lin Ying-jeh in a no-hit bid, while Bulls right-hander Lenin Picota kept the Cobras in check.

It took three consecutive singles by the Cobras' Mario Encarnacion, Luo Ming-ching, and Deng Shih-yang, all with two outs, to score the Cobras' first two runs off Picota in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Leading 2-0, the serpents doubled their lead in the seventh on one swing by cleanup man Hsieh Jia-shien, whose two-run home run off Bulls reliever Osvaldo Martinez to right-center, again with two outs, to put the Cobras up 4-0.

"I'd be lying to you if I told you I was not nervous during the at-bat, especially after failing to come up anything in my first three at-bats," Hsieh said after the game, referring to his league-leading 17th homer of the season that sealed the win for the Cobras.

Rookie righty Lin En-yu pitched a perfect ninth, after Lin Ying-jeh's eight magnificent innings of two-hit ball to nail down the win, sending waves of orange-and-black ribbons onto the field as the players stormed out of the dugout to celebrate.

"It's simply awesome," Cobras manager Kuo Tai-yuan said after the game. "Words can't even begin to describe all the hard work that we as a team have done.

"Outstanding job by everyone in the organization all around."

Missing two of their regular starters -- outfielder Tseng Hua-wei and shortstop Cheng Jau-han to injuries -- the normally powerful Bulls' offense was limited to a pair of singles off Lin Ying-jeh.

It was the first time that the Bulls have been shut out this season.

"He [Picota] did a good job for us as far as keeping us in the game." Bulls manager Liu Rong-hua said. "It's too bad that our hitters never came around like we had hoped to back him up."
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