Mike Johnson pitched eight strong innings of one-run ball, Yu Jin-deh and Chiang Chih-tsong had multi-hit nights, and the La New Bears successfully defended their home turf by beating the Uni-President Lions 7-1 at the Kaohsiung County Baseball Stadium on Monday night.
The win not only helped the Bears nip a three-game slide, but also propelled them to a tie for the lead in the latest standings with the Lions.
It was a big win for the Canadian right-hander who improved to an astounding 17-1 record for the year, virtually locking him in for most victories this year with a four-game cushion over the next-best hurler.
As for Yu and Chiang, the young bashing tandem for La New who had been overshadowed by the likes of sluggers Lin Chih-sheng and former major leaguer Chen Chin-fong over the past three seasons, the ball appeared bigger than a grapefruit as they combined for 5-for-8 with three RBIs to back up Johnson.
The battle between the top two squads in the league began with the hosts taking it strong to the Lions by netting three quick runs off Uni-President starter Louis Pote in the bottom of the second on RBI-doubles by Yu and outfielder Huang “Easy” Long-yi and a one-run-single by Chiang.
The Lions finally managed to score what turned out to be their lone run of the game in the fourth on a couple of throwing errors by the Bears defense that allowed the runner from second to avoid the shutout.
That was as close to rattling Johnson as they got as he breezed through the eighth with relative ease before turning the game to fellow righty Chang Chih-jia after 114 pitches to wrap up the “W” in the ninth.
Chen Fong-min’s run-scoring single capped a three-run eighth as the Bears extended their lead to 7-1.
Taking the loss for the Lions was Pote who allowed six runs on eight hits in 7-1/3 innings of work to settle with a 13-5 record. He did not receive the usual run support that he had been getting all season as the Lions offense could only produce one run instead of the usual five-plus they had been getting all season long.
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