Outstanding relief by setup man Yu Wen-pin fended off a Brother Elephants rally as the Sinon Bulls started the week with a 3-2 win at the Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium on Wednesday.
With the bases loaded and the Elephants having just scored a run to tie the game at 2-2 and looking for more, Yu entered the game in relief of starter Anastacio Martinez in the top of the fifth and induced an inning-ending groundout to end the Elephants threat.
He gave up just one hit in three-and-a-third innings of shutout relief, including five strikeouts, en route to his second victory of the season.
Doing the damage at the plate was designated hitter Chang “Prince of the Forest” Tai-shan, who batted 2-for-3 with an RBI to become the first man in league history to collect 900 career RBIs.
Also starring was Wilton Veras of the Dominican Republic, whose clutch single with runners at first and second gave his club a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, a lead that would stand to the end.
The Elephants’ inability to take advantage of a wild Martinez, who allowed a half-dozen hits and four walks in four-and-two-third innings, ultimately cost them the game as they stranded a total of nine runners, five in scoring position, to lose their sixth straight.
BEARS 6, LIONS 3
The La New Bears doubled up on the Uni-President Lions with a 6-3 win on their visit to Tainan on Tuesday night to end the Lions’ four-game winning streak.
Bears starter Chang Chih-jia, who picked up his fourth win of the year, was on top of his game with seven innings of one-run ball on three scattered singles. The former star of Japan’s Seibu Lions is tied with teammate Aaron Rakers and the Lions’ Chris Gissell for the league’s lead in total victories.
Chen Chin-fong’s three-run blast off Lions starter Valerio de los Santos in the top of the fifth broke the game wide open as the Bears led 5-1 after five.
Even though the Lions scored a pair of runs in the eighth on the strength of three singles and a walk off Bears reliever Huang Hong-ren to fall within three of the Bears, it was too little too late as the Bears called on Keng Bo-hsuen to put out the fire in the eighth and turned to closer Jermaine Van Buren with a hitless ninth to preserve the win for Chang.
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
• La New Bears 7,
Uni-President Lions 6
• Brother Elephants 10,
Sinon Bulls 6
TODAY’S GAMES
• La New Bears v
Brother Elephants
(Sinjhuang, 6:30pm)
• Uni-President Lions v
Sinon Bulls
(Taichung, 6:30pm)
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