CPBLA bitter 4-3 upset loss at home to the last-placed Chinatrust Whales in Tainan on Tuesday night ended all hopes of the President Lions winning the first-half title, while they also gift-wrapped the first-half crown for the La New Bears.
After their 5-3 loss to the Macoto Cobras last Saturday that not only ended their record setting 17-game winning streak but also made Tuesday night's contest a must-win situation to remain in contention for the first-half title, the Lions sent lefty ace Eric Cyr to the mound to take on the Whales' newly arrived Venezuelan southpaw Alexander Herrera.
The game began with the marine creatures jumping to a 3-0 lead in the second inning when third baseman Chen Jia-hong singled in outfielder Mike Lockwood on a play that scored two runs (the other by a Lions defensive error), followed by catcher Chih Jin-sho's RBI single to deep center field.
Down by three, the hosts got two of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning when second baseman Yang Seng's line-drive shot bounced off the right-field wall for a triple that scored two runners.
The Whales added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning with Chen's sacrifice-fly up the middle with the bases loaded that scored what ended up being the game-deciding run as the Lions rallied for one more run in the eighth on outfielder Pan Wu-hsiung's run-scoring single off Whales reliever Liu Yu-jang.
Whales reliever Shen Yu-jeh was credited with the win for his 1-2/3 innings of one-hit relief work in beating the Lions' Cyr, who allowed all four of the Whales runs (only two earned) on six hits over 5-2/3 frames. It was Cyr's third loss of the season.
Base-running woes late in the game plagued the Lions for the second straight game as pinch runner Chang Jia-yuan, representing the tying run, was picked off by Shen at first base for the second out of the inning to crush a Lions comeback.
Elephants 12, Cobras 5
The Brother Elephants rang up a dozen runs on 17 total hits off a depleted Cobras staff that resorted to four different fielders for pitching duty in a 12-5 final at Sinjhuang on Tuesday to end an otherwise disappointing first half on a high note.
Despite allowing five runs on eight hits in eight innings, Elephants starter Chuck Smith of the US won for the first time in his second game this year behind a generous offense that had three different hitters with at least three hits on the night, highlighted by third baseman Wang Jin-yong's 4-for-5 effort with five RBIs. Wang hit a towering shot off Cobras reliever Chuang Jin-her in the top of the second inning with the bases juiced for a grand slam to put the Elephants up 4-0.
Taking the loss was Cobras reliever Tsai Shih-chin, who was ejected from the game by league rules for hitting a batter in the head in the third inning. It was his first loss this season.
Cobras 8, Elephants 5
Monday's rematch in Sinjhuang had the serpents striking for five runs off a shaky Wang Jing-li in the top of the eighth inning to turn a 4-3 deficit into an 8-4 lead and an eventual 8-5 win for the Cobras.
Five consecutive singles on top of a walk off Cobras starter Chang Hsien-chih plated four quick runs for the Elephants in the bottom of the third inning to help the Elephants gain a 4-2 advantage after the Cobras had taken a 2-0 lead earlier in the inning on a sacrifice-fly by Wang Chuang-jia and an RBI single by Hsieh "The Ugly" Jia-shien.
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