Red-hot Michael Morse continued his productive play at the plate with a crucial two-run single in the sixth to help the MLB All-Stars pull off a narrow 3-2 win over Taiwan’s national team in Game 4 of the Taiwan All-Star Series at Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium in Greater Kao-hsiung yesterday afternoon.
It was the second straight game in which the cleanup man for the Washington Nationals — and the MLB All-Stars — drove in a pair of runs, which included a solo blast and a run-scoring double, to give his team just enough run support for the victory.
The win not only gave the unbeaten visitors a commanding 4-0 lead in the five-game exhibition series, but also put them on the verge of sweeping what has been a very entertaining series for the fans.
Unlike the first three games, the hosts actually drew first blood, with Lin Che-hsuan (林哲瑄) connecting on a two-out single off Major League starter Dillon Gee (New York Mets) with runners at the corners to give Taiwan a quick 1-0 in the top of the second inning.
The lead lasted less than an inning as the All-Stars answered with a run of their own off Taiwan starter Ni Fu-te (倪福德) in the bottom of the third, courtesy of a triple by Erick Aybar (Los Angeles Angels), to score Emilio Bonifacio (Florida Marlins) all the way from first base to tie the game at 1-all.
Neither team managed to score in the fourth and fifth with reliever Chen Yu-hsun (陳禹勳) holding the visitors scoreless despite giving up a double and a single in the fourth and fifth respectively, and Gee pitching perfect throughout the same span before being relieved in the bottom of the sixth.
However, Chen’s luck finally ran out in the sixth as he walked the leadoff man and gave up a double to Robinson Cano (New York Yankees) to put two runners in scoring position to set up Morse’s two-run single that gave his team a 3-1 advantage.
Taiwan scored one more run in the seventh with Lan Yin-lun (藍寅倫) stretching a double into a triple off reliever Trevor Bell (Los Angeles Angels) to set up Lin Chia-yo’s (林加祐) RBI fielder’s choice, but that was as close as they got as they came up empty-handed in the eighth and ninth.
Picking up the win with two innings of one-run relief was Bell, while Chen was tagged with the loss for serving up Morse’s game-winning hit.
The “Pride of Taiwan,” Wang Chien-ming (王建民) of the Washington Nationals, will represent his country in the series finale this afternoon at 2pm when he takes the mound against Jeremy Guthrie (Baltimore Orioles) in a matchup of Major Leaguers at the Chengcing Lake stadium.
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