Erupting for six hits in a five-run fifth, the Uni-President Lions humbled the Brother Elephants 9-3 at Chiayi Municipal Baseball Stadium on Saturday night.
The win not only avenged a 3-0 shutout loss to the Elephants the night before, but also kept the men in the golden uniforms from clinching the second-half title as their fans held off the ribbons for another day.
What had been a close battle between the two starters, Lee Wei-hua of the Lions and former major leaguer Tsao Chin-hui of the Elephants, changed decisively in the top of the fifth when the Lions connected for six hits off Tsao to claim a 6-1 advantage.
Two of the runs given up by Tsao in the inning were unearned because of an error by first baseman Wang Jin-yong, but it did not keep him from being chased in the fifth as skipper Nakagomi Sin sent in Wang Jing-li to stop the rot.
Wang Jing-li would do just that as he retired the first two Lions batters he faced to get out of the inning and allowed only one more run through the seventh.
Unfortunately for the Elephants, the offense would remain sluggish against the stellar pitching of Lee, who surrendered only two runs over six solid innings to deny the Elephants any realistic chance of a comeback.
Offensively for the victorious Cats, Liu Fu-hao’s three-for-five hitting with three RBIs led the way, while Pan Wu-hsiung also chipped in a key two-run single that jump-started the five-run fifth for his club.
Picking up the win was Lee, who improved to 4-1 for the year, while his counterpart Tsao suffered the loss to fall to an even 8-8 mark in his first season since returning from the majors.
BULLS 11, BEARS 3
The Sinon Bulls avenged a loss in extra-innings on Friday night with an 11-3 win over the La New Bears on Saturday to celebrate the Moon Festival with a big win at Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium.
Shoda Itsuki pitched six innings of one-run ball on a half-dozen hits against a potent Bears lineup for the win, becoming the first 13-game winner in the league this season. The Japanese native, who struggled midway through the season, has quietly come good and taken over the top spot in total wins after trailing the Bears’ Aaron Rakers.
Providing the firepower for the home Bulls with his big bat was Cheng Da-hong, who belted three extra-base hits, all doubles, to drive in as many runs in the process.
The Bulls used a seven-run second, highlighted by two-run doubles from Cheng and designated hitter Chang Tai-shan, to build an early 8-0 lead and never looked back.
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