The hits kept coming yesterday for the Lamigo Monkeys, bolstered by the boisterous support of a full house in Taoyuan to rout the Brothers 14-5, earning them a one-game lead in the Taiwan Series.
The Brothers looked sharper early on with three runs in the first inning, the key blow coming from the bat of outfielder Chang Chih-hao, who hit a two-run homer.
The Lamigo hitters could only muster one run for their at-bat, allowing the Brothers to steam ahead 3-1 at the end of the first.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The game was marked by a pitching battle between two Americans, with the Brothers starting right-hander Orlando Roman (4-8 record, ERA 4.46) on the mound against lefty Darin Downs of the Monkeys (10-3, ERA 3.49).
Roman held his own against the Monkeys’ vaunted offense to help the Brothers stretch their lead to 5-2 in the top of the fourth, adding hope that the visitors would build upon their Saturday victory.
Despite the grim outlook, the packed crowd at the Taoyuan International Stadium gave their loud support, and the home team responded with a huge rally to reverse their deficit.
In the bottom of the fourth, the energized Monkeys chased Roman from the game and rattled his successor Kuan Ta-yuan, sending 10 men to the plate and piling on six runs.
They put together six hits and one walk in this pivotal rally, with outfielder Lan Yin-lun and second baseman Kuo Yen-wei doing the most damage, driving in two runs each.
Lamigo then added to their 8-5 lead, scoring two runs each in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames to build the 14-5 result.
Downs pocketed the win, yielding eight hits for five runs, four of them earned runs, through six innings.
Kuan was charged with the loss, having given up three runs in only two-thirds of an inning.
The triumph gave the Lamigo Monkeys a 2-1 lead in the series, after the Brothers took the opener 8-5 in Taoyuan on Saturday.
According to CPBL regulations, the Lamigo Monkeys were awarded a one-game lead to the series having won both half-season campaigns this year.
Lamigo’s regular catcher Lin Hung-yu, inserted as designated hitter, was selected as last night’s MVP. He went three-for-four, with four RBIs and two runs.
Kuo was the other offensive threat with four RBIs on four hits.
The next game is scheduled for tomorrow at 6:30pm at the Brothers’ home Taichung Intercontinental Stadium.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
RSS