Hsu Wen-hsiung pitched well into the eighth and Chen Fong-min drove in the game-winning run to help the La New Bears top the Brother Elephants 2-1 in Sinjhuang on Friday night, completing a two-game series sweep of the Elephants.
The reliever-turned-starter for the Bears earned his second win of the season by taking the 1-run gem two outs into the eighth before being relieved by bullpen mates Hsu Chih-hua and closer Huang Jung-chung.
An RBI groundout by Fong Sheng-shien scored Wang Jin-yong, who led off the third with a rare triple off Hsu Wen-hsiung, and broke a scoreless tie as the Elephants took an early 1-0 lead.
That was the only run that the Elephants could manage off Hsu as the Bears starter quickly regrouped and pitched out of the inning without further damage.
Trailing by a run, the Bears would break through against the pitching of Elephant starter Nick Bierbrodt by knocking home the tying run in the top of the fifth, when Shih Chih-wei's groundout to short scored Jiang Chih-tsong.
After a quiet sixth, the Bears offense would strike again in the top of the seventh when Suen Hao-jui drew a walk off Elephants reliever Wu Jung-yi, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Jiang and reached third on a wild pickoff attempt before being waved home on Chen's RBI groundout.
The 2-1 lead was more than ample for the Bears' bullpen as Huang got out of a jam in the eighth with runners on first and second by fanning the next Elephants hitter for an inning-ending strikeout.
He then got the final three outs in the ninth for his league-leading fifth save of the season, although he did get into trouble in the inning by allowing two runners to get on after retiring two Elephants.
But that was as close as the Elephants got as the former Red Sox minor league prospect induced a lazy fly to center by Chen Huai-shan to preserve the win.
The inability to come up with the clutch hits on offense, coupled with the six walks issued by Bierbrodt proved too much for the Elephants to overcome as they stranded seven runners to lose a game in which they outhit the Bears by a 7-2 margin.
Bulls 2, Lions 0
Su Jien-rong's one-run single and the walk drawn by Lin Chung-nan with the bases loaded in the top of the second proved to be the difference in the game as the Sinon Bulls blanked the President Lions in a 2-0 shutout in Tainan on Friday to split the two-game series.
Yang Jien-fu tossed six-plus innings of shutout ball on six hits before turning the game over to reliever Yu Wen-pin in the seventh and ace closer Kuo Yong-chich in a scoreless eighth and ninth to keep the shutout intact.
A lack of run support by the Lions offense wasted a terrific outing by starter Pete Munro, who went the distance to give an extremely worn-out Lions staff some much needed rest for his second loss of the season.
RSS