Four straight wins following a shaky season opener against the Sinon Bulls have propelled the President Lions (4-1) to the top of the Chinese Professional Baseball League standings.
Unlike last year, where the Lions won with the stingiest staff in the league (2.77 team ERA), this year's group is putting up over six runs a game to make up for the lack of offense that had been the longstanding problem for skipper Hsieh Chang-hern.
Leading the way with his big bat for the Lions is Dominican slugger Israel Alcantara, whose 10 RBIs in only the first five contests have made him the single most-feared hitter among opposing pitchers.
PHOTO: CPBL
Ace closer, Michael Garcia, may not have been his-former-self (allowing only five earned runs in 53 game appearances for an incredible ERA of 0.71 last season) thus far with an ERA of 3.38.
But the veteran righty out of southern California has been able to hold off the opposition in key situations to deliver a win and two saves for the Lions.
Thursday's 8-7 home-opening win against the Macoto Cobras in Tainan was a typical win for the Lions this year, as they held a 5-1 lead after five innings of play, with a potent offense led by Alcantara's 4-for-5 night with four RBIs, before starter Narimoto Toshinide and set-up man Chen Yang-kai combined to yield five runs in a disastrous sixth inning that handed the 6-5 lead back to the Cobras.
PHOTO: CPBL
The home Lions would retake an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the eighth on a run-scoring double by Alcantara -- holding off the serpents in the scoreless ninth with Garcia on the mound for the win.
"I guess the hitters have finally figured me out after they've seen me pitch for a year.
Even though it may not be good for me as far as my stats go, it's definitely good for the game," Garcia said.
Elephants versus Bulls
The Brother Elephants and the Bulls' split the first two games of their four-game series earlier this week, with the Elephants drawing first blood in Tuesday's 12-5 blowout victory, before the defending champs returned the favor the following day in a 4-1 decision.
Starter Wu Jung-yi barely lived up to his "Bulls Slayer" nickname in Tuesday's game after allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 5-2/3 innings of work, thanks an offense that had spotted him 11 runs in the first four innings.
Former Rookie-of-the-Year winner Tsai Chung-nan's first start for the Bulls since returning from an injury-plagued season last year was a forgetful one, as he surrendered four runs after only two outs into the first inning before being pulled in the shortest outing of his career.
In Wednesday's game, American starter Jeff Andra (2-0) took control early, en route to his second win of the season for the Bulls.
The third-year southpaw out of the San Francisco Giants farm system gave up one run on seven hits in as many innings, while striking out four.
Failure to come up with timely hits cost the Elephants the game as they stranded nine base runners (four in scoring position) in a game that they could have easily won after outhitting the Bulls 7-to-4.
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