Chang Chih-chiang pitched seven brilliant innings of shutout ball to lead the President Lions past the dmedia T-Rex 2-1 at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium on Sunday to salvage a one-game series-split.
The emerging right-hander made the most of his first career start against the T-Rex by overcoming a shaky first in which he worked out of a bases-loaded with no-outs jam by striking out the side before settling in to dominate the next six innings en route to his fifth win of the year.
Showing off his potent bat by going 2-for-4 with what ended up being the game-winning RBI was Yang Seng who was the lone Lions hitter with a multi-hit night against the T-Rex’s previously undefeated Cory Bailey to help the home side avoid an embarrassing sweep.
The highly anticipated pitchers’ duel lived up to its hype as Chang held the dmedia offense to five scattered hits over seven scoreless innings while Bailey allowed a pair of runs (only one earned) through the sixth before turning the game to his bullpen.
It was a wild pitch by the US veteran in the bottom of the first that led to a poor throw which scored the runner all the way from second to give the Lions an early 1-0 lead.
The Lions made it 2-0 two innings later on Yang Seng’s two-out single with man on second before fending off a late-game scare by the T-Rex that saw Hsieh “the Ugly” Jia-shien crush a solo blast to bring his team to within one.
The win by the Lions cut their magic number for clinching the first-half title to three as they head into the new month with an auspicious start.
The loss by T-Rex dropped the dinosaurs all the way to No. 5 in the latest standings with a handful of games remaining in the first half.
Elephants 5, Bulls 2
The red-hot Brother Elephants continued their recent success by claiming their fourth straight win in a 5-2 decision against the Sinon Bulls at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Sunday evening.
The win not only helped the Elephants sweep their second series in a row, but also put them in a solid third place in the standings behind the Lions and the La New Bears.
Chen Guan-ren’s two-run single through the middle capped a four-run third that broke a scoreless affair between the two clubs.
The Elephants tacked on their fifth run of the contest two innings later on an RBI-single by Chen again for a comfortable 5-0 lead.
Even though the Bulls put two runs on the board in the eighth courtesy of Chang “Prince of the Forest” Tai-shan’s two-run single to make the final score somewhat respectable, the outcome of the game was never in doubt as the Elephants held on for the win.
Picking up his third win of the year with seven shutout innings of work on eight hits was starter Danny Core.
He beat his counterpart Jose Espinal of the Bulls in the matchup between the two foreign hurlers.
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