The Elephants now lead the Whales 3-0 in the best-of-seven series and can clinch the title in Game 3 tomorrow.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CPBL
After losing the opener the previous night in Tienmu Stadium 6-1, the Whales were forced to change their starting roster, sending triple-crown winner Sung Chao-chee (
The Elephants started with Jonathan Hurst (5-3 against the Whales this season) as scheduled.
The Elephants wasted no time in establishing control of the game by hitting Sung hard in the first inning. Feng Shen-shien (
The Elephants' offense continued attacking Sung in the second by scoring another two runs on two hits and one walk.
The Whales had to replace their ace starter before the second inning was completed. Whales' catcher Shi Chin-shou (
The Elephants later scored another run off Hsieh Cheng-shoon (
The Whales' batters finally entered the action at the top of the sixth inning. Lin Yueh-liang (
In the seventh the Whales were able to once again attack Hurst. The bases were loaded for the first time for the Whales with one hit, an error by Elephants second baseman Feng Sheng-shien and a walk by Hurst with only one out. Hurst got out of the jam by getting the remaining two outs to allow just one run.
Although the Whales managed to score another run in the eighth, Hurst held on and pitched a complete game.
Hurst said during the post-game interview, "I felt good through the first half part of the game, but after the sixth I kind of lost my concentration.
"But this is the championship series; I gave everything I have, even if they want me to pitch 200 balls. I would not care about the pitch count at all."
Game 3 of the series will be played tomorrow in Chiayi Stadium, where the Whales will be playing their first home game in the series.
The Whales will have to win the game to keep the series alive, but history is not on their side. No team has ever won from a 0-3 deficit in the series.
The game will be carried live on VideoLand Sports TV (Ch. 49) and CBS radio starting at 6:35pm.
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