Team White teed off against the Team Red pitching with nine first-inning runs en route to an 11-7 win in the All-Star Game at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night.
The annual midsummer classic, which drew nearly 20,000 fans to Taoyuan City in its first-ever All-Star showing, saw Team Red grabbing a quick 3-0 lead off Team White starter Lin Chen-hua of the EDA Rhinos in the top of the first with an RBI double by Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min (Brother Elephants) and Kuo Yen-wen’s (Lamigo Monkeys) two-run single.
The three-run lead proved short-lived, as Team White answered with a record-setting nine runs in the bottom of the same inning, highlighted by a pair of two-run doubles from Chang Cheng-wei (Elephants) and Lin Hung-yu (Monkeys) to chase Team Red reliever Lin Ying-jeh (Rhinos).
After a timely single by Chen Yung-chi (Uni-President Lions) and a throwing error by the Team White defense that scored two runs in the top of the second for Team Red making it 9-5, the pitchers of both teams held the opposing offense to two combined runs through the eighth, before a two-run homer by Cheng Hong-da (Rhinos) in the top of the ninth for Team Red made the game look closer than it really was.
Wang Sheng-wei of the Elephants was named the game’s MVP for his game-high three RBIs on a 3-for-4 night.
Picking up the win for Team White was Lin Chen-hua, who allowed five runs on eight hits over two innings of play to beat his counterpart Lin Ying-jeh, who set a new high for most allowed runs in an inning during an All-Star Game, at eight.
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