The Lamigo Monkeys cranked out three big home runs to trounce the Uni-President Lions 10-3 and claim the Taiwan Series at the Taoyuan International Stadium last night, their sixth championship.
The 4-2 series scoreline confirmed the Monkeys as the most dominant CPBL team of the past decade, with five titles since 2012.
Lamigo first baseman Chen Chun-hsiu took the Series MVP award after batting at .500 throughout the series to go with clutch hits.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Lamigo manager Hong Yi-chung received the trophy on behalf of his players.
“All the credit goes to the coaching staff and players for their outstanding performance,” Hong said.
“We have won the championship for the second year in a row and next year we will go for three in a row,” he said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“It has not been easy; there was lots of pressure on us when we lost the second and third game in the series, but we returned home to Taoyuan and made adjustments,” he said.
“It is fantastic to win the championship in front of our home fans,” he said.
Two US pitchers started the game, with Michael Nix for Lamigo, while the Lions countered with Josh Roenicke on the mound.
The Lions got on the board first through shortstop Yang Chia-wei’s cracking double to drive in a run in the top half of the second frame.
It did not take long for the Monkeys to reply.
In the bottom of the inning, catcher Lin Hong-yu smashed a solo homer to level the scores.
Lamigo’s core line-up ignited in the fourth inning, pushing home three runs against Roenicke.
Slugger Wang Po-jung earned a walk on four balls to start the rally, before clean-up hitter Chen Chun-hsiu slapped a grounder up the middle, on which an error by a Lions outfielder allowed Wang and Chen to reach second and third.
Lin earned his second RBI of the night, punching a sharp line-drive single through the left side.
Outfielder Chu Yu-hsien drove in another run from third base on a sacrifice fly, before shortstop Lin Cheng-fei hit an RBI-single to collect the third run in the rally.
Lamigo were in front 4-1, but the tenacious Lions did not quit.
In the next frame, the Lions’ top order closed the gap, with leadoff hitter Chen Chieh-hsien ripping a double and outfielder Su Chih-chieh pounding a single to send Chen home, making it 4-2.
Two innings later, with Nix departed, the Lions had a pinch-hitter on with a walk after one out. The same combination clawed back another run, with Chen Chieh-hsien’s single allowing Su a second RBI on a single to right field.
The visitors trailed by only one at 4-3 at the top of the seventh.
However, in the bottom half of the frame, facing new pitchers Andy van Hekken and Wang Chin-ming, Lamigo exploded for six runs to put the game out of reach and fans began celebrating victory.
Third baseman Kuo Yung-wei blasted a solo homer to open the floodgates, then Lamigo increased their lead with runs from Wang Po-jung’s RBI single and Lin Hong-yu’s sacrifice fly.
Chu ended all hope for the Lions, when, with two runners on, he connected on a fastball for a three-run homer.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS