The Lamigo Monkeys yesterday took Game 1 of the Taiwan Series with an 8-6 win at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, scoring six runs on two home runs in a big rally in the fourth inning. The Brothers Baseball Club attempted to fight back late in the game, but could not overcome the deficit.
More than 19,000 fans witnessed hosts the Monkeys take the first victory in the CPBL’s best-of-seven championship finals against their fierce rivals, who were previously known as the Chinatrust Brothers.
The Brothers are seeking revenge, as this year is a rematch of last year’s Taiwan Series, when the Lamigo Monkeys dusted off the Brothers in five games 4-1, while the Monkeys will try to win the title for the second year straight.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Both teams elected to start with imported left-handed pitchers for this opener, with the US’ Pat Misch pitching for the Lamigo Monkeys and Victor Garate of Venezuela for the Brothers.
In the end, Misch pocketed the win, striking out three while giving up eight hits and three runs over seven innings.
Garate was tagged with the loss, as he allowed three walks and nine hits for nine runs over four innings.
Lamigo Monkeys team manager Hung Yi-chung after the game said that it was a good match, as both sides traded runs, with the big-scoring fourth inning the key, as his team seized the opportunity to provide good run support for the pitchers.
“Those six runs really boosted our team’s confidence and we kept it going through the contest for the win,” Hung said.
“We had several good chances to score runs in early on, but our batters did not come up with the big hits and stranded too many runners on bases,” Brothers Baseball Club team manager Wu Fu-lien said.
“We got some runs later on, but it was not enough, and we will have to do better in the upcoming games,” he added.
The visiting Brothers first opened the scoring, when, with one runner on base, Hsu Chi-hung slapped an RBI single to center field to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Misch appeared to be in trouble two batters later, when the bases were loaded on only one out.
However, Misch cooled off the opposition’s rally, first striking out Brothers captain Chen “Red Turtle” Chiang-ho and then ending the inning by getting Chang “The Flower” Cheng-wei to hit a grounder for the out at first base.
At the top of the thrilling fourth frame, Brothers catcher Chen Chia-chu lined a single to drive in a run to double his team’s lead to 2-0.
They could have piled on more, as Misch faced runners on the corners with only one out, but he induced the next batter to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The momentum shifted to the Monkeys in the bottom half of the inning, when outfielder Wang “The King” Po-jung opened the frame by smashing a fastball from Garate into the stands for a solo homer.
That ignited the Monkeys’ firepower, who after two hits and a walk had the bases loaded.
Yang Yao-hsun, formerly of the Japanese professional league’s Softbank Hawks, then punched through a grounder to knock in two runs, taking the hosts ahead 3-2.
Two batters later, with two runners on base, designated hitter Lin “Chubby Kid” Hung-yu clobbered a shot that just managed to clear the right-field fence for a three-run homer.
The Monkeys ended the pivotal fourth frame with six runs for a 6-2 lead.
Trying to get back in the contest, the Brothers got one run on two hits and a walk to make it 6-3 in the seventh inning.
They managed to narrow the gap to 6-4 when designated hitter Hsu Chi-hung blasted a solo homer in the eighth inning.
However, in the bottom of the eighth frame, the Monkeys padded their lead, scoring two more runs on three hits and one sacrifice fly to make it 8-4.
At the top of the ninth inning, the Brothers got the home fans nervous, when, with one man on base, Brothers outfielder Chou “The Chairman” Ssu-chi connected off a pitch from Monkeys reliever Lin Po-yu for a two-run play to cut the margin to two runs.
However, Lin steadied himself and struck out the next two batters to end the contest at 8-6 in favor of the Monkeys.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Teng Kai-wei impressed against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday despite an 8-1 loss in the opener of the team’s nine-game road trip. Teng, the only Taiwanese pitcher active in MLB, struck out five while allowing two hits and one walk over four innings at Chase Field to finish with a no decision, as the teams were tied 1-1 when he finished his outing. He surrendered the lone run of his outing in the bottom of the first, which began with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts. Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Geraldo Perdomo advanced to third on
DOUBLE: Harry Kane has now netted 12 goals in six games, scoring his second hat-trick this season after Bayern’s opening Bundesliga match against Leipzig last month That man again. Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season on Saturday to steer Bayern Munich to a 4-1 win at Hoffenheim for the best Bundesliga start any team has made after four rounds. The England captain scored before the break and converted two penalties after it to take his club tally to 12 goals in six games across all competitions — 13 goals in seven games including the German Supercup. Kane’s other hat-trick was in the Bundesliga-opening 6-0 rout of Leipzig. Bayern’s record of 12 points with a goal difference of 15-plus is the best after four rounds of the Bundesliga
New Zealand yesterday basked in “amazing” athletics glory after winning two gold medals in as many days at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Geordie Beamish on Monday claimed New Zealand’s first track gold in history with a shock victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, while high jumper Hamish Kerr followed with gold on Tuesday to make it an unprecedented double success for a country much better known for rugby than its prowess in track and field. Before this week, the country had won only six golds in total at the championships. Yesterday morning New Zealand were in the giddy position of fourth on
Rwanda is to take center stage from today as the first African country to host the cycling world championships, in its latest use of sports to improve the country’s reputation. As it prepares for 5,000 cyclists and 20,000 spectators, Rwanda has spruced up its roads, created a network of cycle lanes and run multiple police drills. A poor, landlocked country in east Africa still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used various sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organizational efficiency. It has spent lavishly on soccer sponsorship deals with clubs
RSS