Chang Chih-hao’s walk-off single off Tsai Ming-jin in the bottom of the ninth broke a 2-2 tie as the Brother Elephants edged past the Sinon Bulls 3-2 at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu last night.
It was the first time the rookie standout for the Elephants had a chance to play the hero this season and he made the most of it by clearing an opposite-field single just over the outstretched glove of the Bulls shortstop to knock in the game-winner.
“I knew I had the chance to get him [the runner on second] as long as I made good contact on the ball,” Chang said after the game.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
The win not only made it three in a row for the Elephants this week, but it also marked their eighth straight victory over the Bulls as they continued to dominate the first-half champions after coming up empty in their first eight meetings in the second half to even their record at eight wins apiece.
A wild throw by Bulls starter Lin Ying-jeh on a pickoff attempt with runners at the corner scored the first run of the game for the Elephants in the bottom of the first inning, before the visitors returned the favor with an equalizer in the top of the second when Chang Tai-shan led off with a double off Elephants starter Orlando Roman and scored three batters later on Deng Shih-yang’s RBI single.
Neither offense would score again over the next four innings against the solid pitching of Roman and Lin until the Bulls’ Lan Shao-bai came up with a two-out single to break the deadlock, only to see the Elephants answer in the bottom of the same inning, also on a two-out single by Yeh Jung-chang.
The Elephants would have tacked on another run in the inning if it had not been for a base-runner error by Chen Guan-ren that helped the Bulls defense nail him at the plate for an inning-ending out, bringing the tie into the ninth and setting the stage for Chang Chih-hao’s game-clincher.
Picking up his 12th win of the season was Roman, who went the distance for his team with nine innings of two-run ball (one earned run), while the loss went to the Bulls’ Shen Yu-jeh, who pitched a scoreless eighth despite giving up a pair of hits, but finally ran out of luck in the ninth.
LIONS 4, BEARS 1
Chuang Jing-heh’s RBI single capped a three-run sixth that helped the Uni-President Lions overcome a 0-1 deficit to defeat the La New Bears 4-1 at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium yesterday evening.
The three-run sixth nipped a 28-inning scoring drought for the Cats.
Wang Ching-ming was credited with the win for his seven-and-two-third frames of one-run ball, while the loss went to his counterpart, Ken Ray, who allowed four runs on six hits and tied a season-high with five walks.
In today’s games, the Lions face the Bears in Liudou at 5:05pm, while the Bulls and Elephants square up in Tianmu again at the same time.
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