Hsu Guo-long's first-inning grand slam off Macoto Cobras starter Yang Chi-jia gave the Sinon Bulls an early 4-0 lead that they would not relinquish en route to a 9-2 win in Game 3 of the 2005 Taiwan Series at Taichung on Monday night.
The rookie long-ball hitter held nothing back when he got the green light from the dugout to swing at a 2-0 pitch and made the most of it by treating the sellout crowd of 10,000 plus with his first career grand slam in the Bulls' lopsided home victory.
The win put the defending champs in the driver's seat in taking their first ever, back-to-back title in franchise history with a commanding 3-0 lead over the Cobras in the annual best-of-seven Fall Classic.
Following a four-run first, the Bulls would add another pair of runs in the second on outfielder Tseng Hua-wei's two-run liner to left, before they struck again with three more runs in the fourth to chase game-loser Yang Chih-jia while claiming a 9-0 advantage.
"Having the early lead was very important for us, because it took all the pressure off everyone on the team. We all know how explosive their [the Cobras'] lineup can be, so we made sure that we did not let up at all in the game," Sinon manager Liu Rong-hua said at the post-game press conference.
Macoto finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on second-baseman Shih Shiang-kai's RBI double off Sinon starter Yang Jien-fu to avoid an embarrassing shutout, but it did not keep Yang from turning in a stellar five-hit gem, allowing two runs in eight solid innings for the win.
The victory, Yang Jien-fu's fourth career Taiwan Series win, placed the third-year hurler among the elite for most wins in a championship series.
"It's great to be able to come out and help the team with a win, especially when you have been limited to just a few starts because of an injury," Yang, last year's Taiwan Series MVP, said after the game.
Offensively for the Bulls, the high-power lineup consisting of the two above-.300 hitters Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan and Tseng, and three of the league's top 10 RBI men (Chang, Tseng and Hsu), exploded for 16 hits and nine runs against three different Macoto pitchers to top its previous total of six runs from the first two games combined.
As for the Cobras, a lack of run production continued to haunt them as they sorely missed the presence of marquis sluggers Mario Encarnacion, who was found dead in his dormitory early last month, and Wilton Veras, who is not mentally prepared to play following the death of his close friend Encarnacion. Their near-two combined RBI-per-game total would have come in handy for the Cobras during the series.
Facing elimination in a potential series sweep, Macoto will likely send Game 1 starter Lin En-yu to take on the Bulls' Lenin Picota in a Game 1 rematch for tonight's contest at the Chiayi County Stadium in Chiayi.
Should the Bulls run away with the win, they would join the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball in the US (MLB) and the Lotte Marines of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for claiming the championship series over a clean sweep in the same year.
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