Taiwan was yesterday eliminated from contention when their offense sputtered again in an 8-2 defeat by Japan at the Tokyo Dome in the preliminary round of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship.
For the second game in a row, Taiwan’s lineup could not get anything going against quality opposition pitching and failed to deliver a clutch hit, only managing two runs in the final inning.
With a narrow 1-0 loss to South Korea on Friday, Taiwanese players and fans will be on the sidelines to watch hosts Japan take on South Korea in today’s finale for the title.
Photo: CNA
It remained a close contest through the fourth inning, with Japan leading 1-0 after a solo homer by slugger Tonosaki Shuta in the second.
The two lefty starting pitchers, Lin Cheng-hsien (林政賢) for Taiwan and Imanaga Shota for the hosts, kept batters off balance through the early proceedings.
Taiwan could have taken the lead in the fourth inning, when outfielder Yoh Daikan (陽岱鋼) tapped an infield single to get to first base, followed by clean-up hitter Wang Po-jung (王柏融) reaching base on a fielding error by Japan first baseman Yamakawa Hotaka.
With two runners on base and no outs, Taiwan could have scored with a key hit, but Imanaga regained control and fanned the next three batters to end the inning.
Imanaga pitched a gem and was credited with the win, striking out 12 batters through six scoreless innings, with three scattered hits and no walks.
Lin departed in the fifth frame and was tagged with the loss. He yielded five hits and was charged with three runs up to that point.
In the fifth frame, Japan’s leadoff hitter Kyoda Yota slapped an RBI single to bring home two runs, increasing the hosts’ lead to 3-0.
Japan secured the victory by taking advantage of Taiwan’s shaky pitching to score three more runs in the seventh inning, batting through their starting nine, with the major damage done by outfielder Matsumoto Go, who ripped a double for two runs.
The hosts then added a run in each of the final two innings to accumulate an 8-0 lead before Taiwan’s hitters woke up to seize two runs in their final turn at bat.
The only bright spot for the visitors was first baseman Chu Yu-hsien (朱育賢), who broke the goose egg with a solo homer in the bottom of ninth against Japanese reliever Katsunori Hirai.
However, it was too little, too late, and Taiwan added another consolation run for a more respectable 8-2.
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