“King of Live Music” Wu Bai and his band China Blue are to bring their big hits to the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on Sunday in a bid to help the Rakuten Monkeys pick up some hits to stay at the top of the CPBL table this season.
The Monkeys, who have so far this season had the most consistent pitching and hitting, are looking to become the first team in the league to reach 30 wins and clinch the first-half title next month.
The Uni-President Lions are three games back in second place, while the CTBC Brothers are in third and the Wei Chuan Dragons in fourth. Only the Fubon Guardians, who are 14.5 games back, are out of the running for the title.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The Monkeys said in a statement this week that Wu Bai and China Blue are to perform following their contest against the Lions on Sunday. It is to be the finale of a three-day post-game “DZPX Party” sponsored by the Rakuten Group and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Co.
Since 1992, Wu Bai and China Blue have had many hits in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and Mandarin, with a huge following in Taiwan, China and Southeast Asia.
Wu Bai had big plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of China Blue by staging a futuristic rock opera titled Road to Success (成功之路), but he earlier this month announced that all six concert dates this month at the Taipei Popular Music Center had been postponed to next year due to the local COVID-19 situation.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
As a result, Sunday’s engagement after the Monkey’s game would be the best chance for fans to catch Wu Bai live this year, he said.
It is to be the second time for Wu Bai and China Blue to perform in a baseball stadium after they played in support of the Monkeys on Nov. 13 last year.
On Wednesday, the Monkeys trounced the Lions 11-1 in Taoyuan.
Photo courtesy of Spacebomb Co via CNA
Baffling hitters with his side-arm delivery, Monkeys starting pitcher Huang “Tiger” Tzu-peng pocketed his fifth win of the season.
Sailing through seven innings, Huang yielded only one run on six hits and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 2.01.
The Monkeys pummeled Lions starting pitcher Hu Chih-wei and two subsequent relievers for 19 hits, scoring three runs in the second frame and six runs in the eighth to chalk up the victory.
In the day’s other contest, the Dragons caught fire in the fourth inning and went on to score six unanswered runs to best the Guardians 6-3 at the Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium in Kaohsiung.
American right-hander Jake Brigham notched his fourth win of the season, with a 2.29 ERA, after giving up six hits for three runs, allowing only one earned run, over seven innings.
Brigham has become known as the “Fubon Guardians Slayer” as he has never lost against the Guardians, and has a 0.90 ERA in games against them.
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