Wei Chuan Dragons with second homer of the game by Liu Ji-hong in bottom of 14th inning
to prevail for 3-2 win over Rakuten Monkeys, for Taipei-based Dragons to take one game lead to open
the Taiwan Series at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei last night.
Photo: CNA
The teams were tied at 2-2 at end of the ninth inning, sending the opener of the CPBL championship finals into extra innings, and had no scoring until Liu took the big swing to become the hero in the 14th frame.
It is the first time the two teams have met in the Taiwan Series, a best-of-seven competition.
Despite being four-time champions, the Wei Chuan club was disbanded in 1999, only rejoining the top flight in 2021 after a year in a lower competition.
Photo: CNA
The Monkeys have been CPBL champions seven times after the franchise entered the league in 2003.
The Dragons started star pitcher Hsu Jo-hsi in Game 1.
He was a rookie sensation in 2021, but was plagued by injuries that sidelined him for all of last year.
Photo: CNA
He had made only five appearances in the regular season this year, pitching 15-1/3 innings for an ERA of 1.17.
The Monkeys started Pedro Fernandez from the Dominican Republic on the mound. He played in the Mexican League and in farm teams of the MLB’s Kansas City Royals.
He had a 4-1 record with an ERA of 2.09 in eight regular-season starts since joining the Monkeys in August.
Photo: CNA
In the first inning, Fernandez walked the lead batter, then fanned the next two.
Dragons third baseman Liu Ji-hong drilled a hanging slider for a two-run shot to take his team ahead early.
The Monkeys loaded the bases in the fifth frame on two hits and a fielding error with no outs, prompting the Dragons to drag Hsu for lefty Lo Hua-wei, who walked the next batter to allow a run.
Reliever Wang Yao-lin got a fly out and induced a grounder that allowed a double play to prevent further damage.
The Monkeys tied it at 2-2 in eighth inning, when shortstop Lin Cheng-fei tagged Dragons pitcher Bryan Woodall of the US for a double before outfielder Chu Yu-hsien sent him home with an RBI-single.
The Monkey’s own American reliever, Bradin Hagens, did well in the bottom of the eighth. With two runners on base and only one out, Hagens struck out Wei Chuan outfiedler Kuo Tien-hsin, then got home-run specialist Liu to line out at third base to get out of the jam.
Game 2 is slated to start at 5pm today at the Tianmu stadium.
Games 3 and 4 are to be played at Taoyuan Baseball Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday with 6:30pm starts.
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