The Rakuten Monkeys on Saturday dominated defending champions the CTBC Brothers 4-1 in the CPBL season opener in Taichung, after Liao Chien-fu hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning.
Brandon Waddell, who started on the mound and pitched six innings for the Taoyuan-based Monkeys, collected his first victory in his CPBL debut to a crowd of more than 18,000, a season-opener record for the Brothers.
The 28-year-old American lefty yielded one run and two walks, while striking out six, before he retired in the sixth inning.
Photo: CNA
“Our teammates hit the ball well against [Jose] de Paula actually. It is just that the result was not good. So I hoped I could hype us up when I played,” Liao said.
The Monkeys also got a boost from a solo shot by Lin Li in the eighth, scoring their fourth and final run of the game.
The Monkeys struggled to score in the first six innings, despite scattered hits off De Paula, partly because of an error by center fielder Chen Chen-wei while running the bases.
Chen attempted to steal second base in the top of the third, when the Monkeys had one out, taking advantage of a wild throw by Brothers catcher Francisco Pena to reach third base.
However, Chen did not actually touch second base, and was declared out after De Paula threw the ball to second baseman Yueh Tung-hua.
Cheng Chin, who batted next, hit a single soon after.
“That’s very embarrassing. This is the first time that I did not touch base,” said Chen, who led the stolen bases in the previous season with 38.
The Monkeys’ 18-year-old prospect catcher Sung Jia-xiang also shined, with one hit in four chances at bat.
Monkeys manager Tseng Hao-chu said that Sung’s performance had earned him a starting position in yesterday’s home game against the Fubon Guardians.
In Taoyuan yesterday, the Monkeys held a 3-0 lead in the first seven innings, before the Guardians tied it up in the eighth. They remained tied in the top of the 12th on extra innings as of press time last night.
In Taichung, a three-run homer by Liu Chi-hung in the fifth inning helped drive the Wei Chuan Dragons to a 7-5 victory over the Brothers.
The Dragons’ Lin Chih-sheng, also known as Ngayaw Ake, is this season seeking to grab his 300th career home run, which would be a CPBL record.
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