Erupting for 18 runs on 21 hits, including six extra-base hits, the Macoto Cobras demolished the Chinatrust Whales by 18-2 in the night game of the day-night doubleheader in Sinjhuang on Sunday to split the two-game set.
Following a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Whales in the day game that began at 1:05 pm, in which the Cobras were held to three hits over eight shutout innings before Wang Chuan-jia's ninth-inning solo homer scored their lone run in the game to avoid a shutout, the first-half champs let off all their frustration on the night shift.
They teed off against five different Whales hurlers to win only the third game in their past dozen in what had been a tough second half.
Nee Fu-deh of the Whales earned his sixth win of the year for pitching shutout innings of three-hit ball while fanning a season-high of nine to beat his counterpart Carlos Castillo who suffered the tough loss despite throwing six innings of two-run ball (only one earned run) on five hits.
starting nine
The night game belonged to the entire Cobras starting nine that each collected at least one hit in the game, eight of whom had multi-hit outing with at least one RBI to their credit.
Benefiting from the offensive outburst was Cobras right-hander Travis Minix whose return from a three-week absence in an unfamiliar starting role was a big success.
The regular closer for the Cobras came out of the bullpen in his first start of the year and received plenty of run support en route to his fifth win of the season.
He allowed a couple of runs on five hits over six solid innings before handing the game over to the Cobras bullpen to keep the pitch-count under 80.
Taking the loss on behalf of the Whales was starter Kao Jien-san who served up five straight base hits after recording just one out in the top of the first before being pulled for his fourth setback of the season.
Bears 4, Bulls 1
Kit Pellow's solo blast in the bottom of the fourth broke a 1-1 gridlock and the La New Bears went on to beat the Sinon Bulls 4-1 in Kaohsiung on Sunday afternoon to snap a three-game losing skid.
Huang "Easy" Long-yi led off the bottom of the first with a single, took second on a sacrifice-bunt and scored on Raul Gonzalez's opposite-field single to give the home Bears a quick 1-0 lead.
blast
The Bulls returned the favor with Chang Jien-ming's solo home run in the top of the third to tie the game up at 1-1 before Pellow's fourth-inning blast put the Bears ahead for good.
Chen Chih-wei's infield single off Bears reliever Lee Fong-hua with two outs in the top of the sixth put runners at the corners for the Bulls.
But that was as close as they came to scoring a run against the Bears bullpen as Lee escaped the inning unharmed and lasted through the seventh before Jiang Bo-ching pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to preserve the win for starter Tsai Ying-fong.
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