The Chinatrust Whales bounced back from a pair of tough losses earlier this week with consecutive road victories over the President Lions in Tainan on Thursday and Friday to gain a 3-2 record in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
After back-to-back one-run losses to the La New Bears on the road on Tuesday and Wednesday -- both defeats caused late-game errors -- they were due for a big win.
And that was exactly what they got on Thursday evening when they rallied for eight runs during the final three innings of the game to top the home Lions 9-7.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Left-handed wonder Shen Yu-jeh came out of the Whales bullpen in his new role as a starter this year and cruised through five scoreless innings in a 1-0 game before running into a world of trouble in the sixth by giving up a single, a double and a walk before being pulled in a five-run stretch.
He was charged for three of the five runs in the inning as reliever Luo Jien-ming failed to hold off the Lions by yielding two more runs on a single and a bases-loaded walk.
Trailing 5-1, the Whales offense would return the favor immediately in the top of the seventh by batting around the order, scoring five runs on two singles, a double, two walks and a hit batsman to reclaim a 6-5 lead by the seventh-inning stretch.
They then tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the ninth to make it 9-5 before holding on for dear life to win it by a deuce in the end.
Miguel Saladin was credited with the win for his 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief despite allowing two singles and a walk.
It was the Dominican native's first win in Taiwan this year.
Taking the loss for the Lions was setup man Kao Long-wei, who gave up the game-winner in the fatal seventh for his first loss of the season.
Offensively for the Whales, the heart of the order -- consisting of outfielder Mike Lockwood, first baseman Kao Jung-chiang and catcher Wang Hsin-min -- earned their paychecks on the night by going a combined 5-for-13 with four RBIs to deliver the win.
Whales 5, Lions 4
Seven-plus strong innings by starter Du Chang-wei and a five-run second inning helped the Whales overcome three homers by the Lions in a narrow 5-4 win on Friday night.
The Whales needed every one of those five runs from the second to eke out the win as the bullpen nearly cost them the game by allowing a run in both the eighth and ninth before Saladin recorded the final three outs to preserve the win.
Tilson Brito's leadoff homer off Du in the bottom of the sixth, his second in three games, jumpstarted the Lions' comeback attempt before teammate Kuo Dai-chi followed with a towering shot to right-center off Whales reliever Tseng Jau-hao in the eighth made it 5-3.
Liu Fu-hao's leadoff homer over the centerfield wall off Saladin to start the bottom of the ninth brought the home crowd on its feet.
But that was as close as the Lions got as the poised closer for the Whales calmly retired three of the next four batters to nail down the win.
Cobras 3, Bulls 5
Japanese righties Iba Tomokazu and Hiroshi Shibakus teamed up for eight solid innings to cool off a previously red-hot Macoto Cobras lineup in a 5-3 win for the Sinon Bulls in Taichung on Friday.
Iba held the previously undefeated Cobras squad, which had averaged nearly ten runs per game in their first three games (3-0), to only three runs (one earned) on seven hits and four strikeouts.
Iba pitched for 6-1/3 innings before Hiroshi followed with 1-2/3 innings of perfect relief to pave the winning way for the Bulls, who were playing at home.
As for the Cobras, rookie right-hander Lin Jing-min did not look particularly sharp in his professional debut, allowing five runs in as many innings on six hits and three walks.
Four of the Bulls' nine hits on the night went for extra bases, including a pair of doubles by catcher Yeh Jung-chang, who took home the well-deserved MVP honors for his outstanding play in the game.
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