Winning four of their past five and seven of their past nine, the top-ranked EDA Rhinos have gradually pulled away from the rest of the pack to attain a 4.5 game lead over the second-placed Chinatrust Brothers in the standings.
Leading the way on the offensive side for the Rhinos are Chang Chien-ming, Kao Kuo-hui, and Lin Yi-chuan, who are among the top three in the league in most of the statistical categories. The three players are enjoying an outstanding first month of play with a combined batting average of .386, 13 home runs and 62 RBIs over the Rhinos’ first 22 games.
“They are seeing the ball extremely well and they are very patient at the plate,” renown baseball commentator Yang Chin-lung said of the Rhinos’ trio earlier this week.
Their continued success will undoubtedly pose a serious threat to opposing pitchers as the Rhinos look to improve from their third-placed finish last season.
Superior offensive power is not the only factor for the Rhinos as they lead the league in pitching, with overseas tandem Mike Loree and Evan MacLane, who are 7-0 in 11 starts with a solid earned run average (ERA) of 2.44 in 70 combined innings of play.
Aside from being the league’s first five-game winner, Loree is also the league leader in ERA at a miniscule 2.11 mark.
“[Loree] is definitely making the most of his second tour of duty in Taiwan because he is more familiar with the hitters around the league and he understands better how the hitters think here,” Lamigo Monkeys coach Hung Yi-chung said of his former ace, who left the Primates after two seasons in 2013 for a year-long stint with South Korea’s KT Wiz, before returning to Taiwan at the start of this season.
Loree will have a well deserved break after Wednesday night’s 7-2 victory over the Primates in which he allowed a lone run on five hits over 5-1/3 innings before his next expected start against the Brothers at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on Thursday next week.
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