The Uni-President Lions yesterday completed their second win in two days over the Weichuan Dragons in Tainan after their American pitcher threw a no-hitter on Friday.
The hot bats of the Lions smashed four home runs from 14 hits against six opposition pitchers on their way to a 9-2 victory yesterday, which followed a 13-0 thrashing at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium on Friday.
Yesterday’s other contest was a slugfest in Taoyuan, with the visiting CTBC Brothers downing the Rakuten Monkeys 12-6 in a contest that had 30 hits.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Tim Melville entered the Taiwan pro baseball history books when he tossed a no-hitter against the Dragons on Friday, while his teammates completed some outstanding defensive plays to get him unscathed to the final strikeout.
A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Melville handcuffed the Dragons lineup with an effective mix of fastballs, sliders and change-ups to register the complete-game shutout.
He had 10 strikeouts and five walks.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Game No. 34 of the CPBL possibly marked the first no-hitter in global pro baseball this year.
Melville became the 10th pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a CPBL regular-season game, while American left-hander Pat Misch attained the feat in game 7 of the 2015 Taiwan Series as the Lamigo Monkeys claim the title.
Melville threw 142 pitches on Friday, the most among the 11 no-hitters.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
His Lions teammates gave him plenty of support on offense, scoring one run in the opening frame and four runs in the second to gain an early advantage. They drove home eight more for a commanding 13-run lead midway through the contest.
Melville, who was an MLB pitcher with the Colorado Rockies, needed some help, and his defense pulled off some spectacular plays to keep the no-hitter going.
Centerfielder Chen Chieh-hsien made a diving catch in the first inning and Lin Tzu-hao at third base corralled several bouncers to make the throw to first.
It became tense in the final two innings as Melville pushed his pitch count past 100, the usual limit for starters.
The opposition seemed to be catching up with his action and poised to break their scoreless run.
In the eighth frame, catcher Chen Chung-yu ran a long way to catch a high foul ball, before veteran Kao Kuo-ching snagged a line drive at first base for the second out. Second baseman Yang Chia-wei made a backhand grab on a chopper and threw to first for the third out.
Heading into the final inning, the first out came from a bouncer intercepted at shortstop. Then — in an ex-MLB match-up — Weichuan slugger Rosell Herrera, who played for the Miami Marlins in 2019, stepped to the plate.
However, Melville put three strikes past him.
Melville blew a fastball past the final batter, Hong Wei-han, to nail the no-hitter, prompting raucous celebrations from Lions manager Lin Yueh-ping and pitching coach Jaime Navarro in the dugout.
Melville said afterward that it was a special occasion and the team needed the win.
He thanked his teammates for their defense and his wife, who joined him as he received the MVP award.
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