The hits kept coming yesterday for the Lamigo Monkeys, bolstered by the boisterous support of a full house in Taoyuan to rout the Brothers 14-5, earning them a one-game lead in the Taiwan Series.
The Brothers looked sharper early on with three runs in the first inning, the key blow coming from the bat of outfielder Chang Chih-hao, who hit a two-run homer.
The Lamigo hitters could only muster one run for their at-bat, allowing the Brothers to steam ahead 3-1 at the end of the first.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The game was marked by a pitching battle between two Americans, with the Brothers starting right-hander Orlando Roman (4-8 record, ERA 4.46) on the mound against lefty Darin Downs of the Monkeys (10-3, ERA 3.49).
Roman held his own against the Monkeys’ vaunted offense to help the Brothers stretch their lead to 5-2 in the top of the fourth, adding hope that the visitors would build upon their Saturday victory.
Despite the grim outlook, the packed crowd at the Taoyuan International Stadium gave their loud support, and the home team responded with a huge rally to reverse their deficit.
In the bottom of the fourth, the energized Monkeys chased Roman from the game and rattled his successor Kuan Ta-yuan, sending 10 men to the plate and piling on six runs.
They put together six hits and one walk in this pivotal rally, with outfielder Lan Yin-lun and second baseman Kuo Yen-wei doing the most damage, driving in two runs each.
Lamigo then added to their 8-5 lead, scoring two runs each in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames to build the 14-5 result.
Downs pocketed the win, yielding eight hits for five runs, four of them earned runs, through six innings.
Kuan was charged with the loss, having given up three runs in only two-thirds of an inning.
The triumph gave the Lamigo Monkeys a 2-1 lead in the series, after the Brothers took the opener 8-5 in Taoyuan on Saturday.
According to CPBL regulations, the Lamigo Monkeys were awarded a one-game lead to the series having won both half-season campaigns this year.
Lamigo’s regular catcher Lin Hung-yu, inserted as designated hitter, was selected as last night’s MVP. He went three-for-four, with four RBIs and two runs.
Kuo was the other offensive threat with four RBIs on four hits.
The next game is scheduled for tomorrow at 6:30pm at the Brothers’ home Taichung Intercontinental Stadium.
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