Chang “OEO” Tai-shan’s clutch single with the bases loaded scored the go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh as the Uni-President Lions defeated the EDA Rhinos 5-2 at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night.
The veteran slugger showed no mercy against his former club, punching a pitch from Rhino reliever Lin Cheng-fong through the right side of the EDA infield with the bases juiced that broke a two-all draw. The Lions then tacked on an insurance run in the eighth with a bases-loaded walk by Chen Yung-chi to put the game away.
The road win not only evened the weekend series in Taichung at one win apiece, but also avenged a loss for the Cats to the Rhinos the night before.
The Lions picked up two quick runs off Rhino starter Yang Chien-fu on three singles in the top of the first.
The Rhinos halved the deficit in the bottom of the first when Chang Chien-ming led off the bottom of the first with a single off Lions starter Pan “Du Du” Wei-luen, and scored three batters later on Manny Ramirez’s blooper single that landed just inside the rightfield line.
The Rhinos finally tied the game at two-all with an RBI single by Lin Wei-en off Du Du in the fourth, a score that lasted into the seventh to set up Chang’s late-game heroics.
Picking up his first win of the season was Pan, who allowed two runs on nine hits over seven frames to beat Rhino reliever Lai Hung-cheng, who was charged for the Lions’ go-ahead run in the seventh.
Elephants 1, Monkeys 0
Chou Si-chi’s walk-off single that scored the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth made the difference in the game, as the Brother Elephants broke a scoreless tie late in the game to edge past the Lamigo Monkeys at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu last night.
In a hard-fought battle that featured several spectacular defensive plays, it was the Elephants who had the last laugh when Huang Shih-hao barely avoided the outstretched glove of Lin Hung-yu to cross the plate in the bottom of the ninth, sending the entire Elephants team onto the field in joy.
Starter Lin Yu-ching was credited with the complete-game shutout win, while the loss went to the Monkeys’ Huang Chih-chin.
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