The top-ranked Lamigo Monkeys picked up a much-needed win on the road by topping the second-placed EDA Rhinos 6-3 at Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium in Kaohsiung last night to clinch their first series in two weeks.
Lin Chih-sheng added to his league-leading batting average of .391 by going two-for-four with a double and a home run on a two-RBI night to lift the Primates past their foes. The two-run blast off Rhinos staff ace Mike Loree, Lin’s 14th of the year, kept the Lamigo slugger on pace with the Rhinos’ Kao Kuo-hui, who also homered on the night to cling onto a one home run lead over Lin.
“It is great to be able to help our team win, especially in a close race for the first-half title,” Lin said after the game.
His club is now four-and-a-half games ahead of the Rhinos in the standings, with a dozen games remaining on their schedule.
The showdown between the top two squads in the league saw the visitors draw first blood in the top of the first when Lin Chih-ping doubled off Loree and scored two batters later on a two-out single by Kuo Yen-wen.
The 1-0 lead lasted just an inning, as the home Rhinos answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second when Lin Wei-en connected on a two-out double off Lamigo starter Wang Yi-cheng to score the runner from second and even things up at 1-all.
Three straight base hits off Loree with two outs and a run-scoring error by the Rhinos defense quickly put the Monkeys ahead 3-1 in the third, which lasted until the sixth, with the Rhinos mustering to plate their second run off Wang on Kao’s solo blast to deep-left.
It took Lin’s two-run shot in the seventh to give the visitors a three-run lead at 5-2, which they extended to 6-2 in the ninth before the Rhinos tacked on a run in the bottom of the inning to lose it by three in the end.
Wang was credited with his sixth win of the year by pitching eight effective innings of two-run ball on six hits to beat Loree, who suffered just his second loss of the year to fall to a 7-2 record.
BROTHERS 10, LIONS 0
The Chinatrust Brothers rode the right arm of starter Cheng Kai-wen all the way to victory by blanking the Uni-President Lions in a 10-0 rout at the Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei last night to even the weekend series at one win apiece.
The right-hander went the distance for the third straight start en route to claiming his second straight complete-game shutout win.
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