Yeh Jung-chang’s clutch single following a double by Chang Chih-hao, all with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, broke a scoreless tie and the Brother Elephants held on to blank the Sinon Bulls 3-0 in Game 3 of the Taiwan Series at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night.
Not only was it the Elephants’ third straight win, but more importantly, it gave them a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven annual Fall Classic as they look to close out the year in grand fashion by winning their first title since 2003.
It was especially sweet for Yeh to get the big hit against his former team, with which the veteran catcher had spent the last 10 seasons prior to being released at the end of last season, making the Bulls wonder if the decision was a prudent one after all.
“It feels great to be able to come through and get the job done with the game on the line,” Yeh said after the game.
His team is now a win away from sweeping the series in what could be the biggest upset in recent history, considering the fact that the Bulls were heavy favorites heading into the Taiwan Series.
Starter Orlando Roman allowed no runs on three hits despite walking four and fanning seven in a complete-game performance to earn his first postseason win in Taiwan.
His outstanding effort outshone an otherwise solid outing from Sinon starter Lin Ying-jeh, who pitched six-and-one-third innings of one-run ball on seven hits before the bullpen allowed a pair of insurance runs for the Elephants in the eighth to put the game away.
Failure to come up with the big hits ultimately cost the Bulls the game as they batted a futile 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position (compared with the Elephants’ 3-for-9 in the same situation), stranding a total of seven in a losing cause.
The normally potent heart of the Bulls’ order, consisting of Wang Hsin-min, Lin Yi-chuan and Chang “OEO” Tai-shan, all of whom batted no lower than .310 in the regular season, batted a combined 1-for-9 with no runs batted in on the night
“It’s hard to win when you don’t come up with the big hits when it counts the most,” Sinon manager Hsu Sheng-ming said, summarizing his team’s woes.
Game 4 will begin at 6:30 this evening at the Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in Taipei County, with the Bulls expected to start Japanese ace Shoda Itsuki and take on the Elephants’ Jim Magrane in a rematch of Game 1.
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