The Lamigo Monkeys picked up where they left off last year with a 5-1 win against the Brother Elephants last night, their second victory on opening weekend after defeating the Elephants 6-4 on Saturday at Taoyuan International Stadium.
Following league tradition, Lamigo as the defending champions opened the new season at home. In the finals last year, Lamigo swept the Brothers in four games to clinch the championship.
Lamigo rookie catcher Liao Chien-fu was selected as yesterday’s MVP after getting two hits and snatching the lead in the sixth inning, when the Monkeys made three runs in four hits.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Lamigo’s starting pitcher was New York native Bruce Kern, who faced his former Elephants teammates after leaving his team of two seasons.
In seven innings, Kern yielded only one run in nine hits, struck out four and walked two.
In yesterday’s other game, lefty pitcher Chiang Chen-yen and three solo homers led the Uni-President Lions to a 3-1 win over the Fubon Guardians in Tainan Municipal Stadium.
Lions starter Chiang was backed up by slugger Chen Yung-chi’s two homers and second baseman Wu Chien-juei’s solo dinger to power the home side to victory over the Guardians.
Chiang had an outstanding performance, allowing only one hit in six innings.
His only mistake was in the fifth, when Fubon clean-up batter Lin Yi-chuan hit a solo homer.
Fubon pitcher Mike Loree, a New Jersey native who is playing his sixth CPBL season, was tagged with the loss after the Lions clawed him for seven hits and three runs, despite his seven strikeouts, leading to his removal in the sixth.
In the season opener on Saturday, Lamigo third baseman Lin Li slammed a two-run homer to launch his team to a come-from-behind win.
The Brothers scored two runs each in the first two frames to lead 4-0 going into the third, but Lin’s effort gave the home side six unanswered runs for the win.
“My inclusion as starter in the opener was a surprise. I want to thank the coaches for their trust, and for giving me the opportunity to show what I can do with the bat,” said Lin, who joined the team last year as a utility player and has played in several infield positions.
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