Wang Yi-cheng tossed seven solid innings of two-run ball and Yu Teh-lung drove in a run on a three-hit night as the top-ranked Lamigo Monkeys overcame an early deficit to defeat the Chinatrust Brothers 5-3 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night to take the weekend series 2-1.
The win also avenged a bitter loss for the Primates by the same score to the men in the golden uniforms the night before that topped out their season-high winning streak at six.
“It’s a big win for us, especially the night after we clinched the first-half title,” Lamigo manager Hung Yi-chung said after the game.
His troops showed a lot of character in rallying from a 0-1 deficit with four unanswered runs at one point to claim the victory.
Wang fell behind quickly in the top of the first when Wang Cheng-wei led off the game with a solo blast to deep-left.
However, the 1-0 lead for the Brothers lasted only two innings, as the Monkeys offense delivered against Brothers starter Lin Ying-chieh with a pair of runs thanks to Kuo Yen-wen’s clutch two-out single with the bases loaded.
After the Brothers evened things up with a run in the top of the fifth, the home Primates plated two more runs on four hits to chase Lin.
Trailing by two, the Brothers cut the deficit to one when Huang Shih-hao led off the top of the eighth with a double and scored two batters later on an RBI groundout by Lin Wei-chu.
However, that was as close as they got, as the hosts immediately countered with an insurance run in the bottom of the inning to stay ahead for good.
Picking up the win was Wang Yi-cheng, who improved to 7-2 for the year, while the loss was charged to Lin Ying-chieh, who fell to 2-2 for the year on a tough loss.
RHINOS 13, LIONS 8
The EDA Rhinos picked up an important road win at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium last night with a victory over the Uni-President Lions to win the weekend set by a 2-1 margin.
Six quick runs by the Lions offense spotted starter Justin Thomas a seemingly comfortable 6-1 advantage.
However, the Rhinos rallied from five down with 11 unanswered runs, highlighted by a seven-run seventh to run away with an easy win.
Lin Yen-fong was credited with his first win of the season by pitching a scoreless sixth, while the loss went to his counterpart Kao Chien-san, who coughed up the lead in the seventh after recording just one out for his second setback of the year.
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