The Fubon Guardians’ David Buchanan on Sunday nailed down his first complete-game CPBL victory in the Taipei Dome against the CTBC Brothers.
The Guardians won the game 1-0, ending a seven-game losing streak.
US player Buchanan tossed a gem to sail through nine innings on 117 pitches, yielding only three hits to go with five strikeouts and two issued walks, as Guardians players scored in the opening frame, on an RBI single by Yu Chang for the game’s only run.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The outcome was still unclear late in the contest, as the Guardians were hanging on to the one-run lead when the Brothers threatened in the ninth frame with a runner on third base. However, Buchanan struck out Tseng Sung-en on a fastball to end the game.
As the game ended, Buchanan pumped his fist repeatedly and shouted in delight, then was surrounded by fellow Guardians players, while the home crowd cheered in celebration.
It was Buchanan’s first CPBL win in eight appearances and the first time he received the Most Valuable Player award.
“Every day, our team are working hard to get a win... Today I just went out there, to give us a chance to win, keeping us in the game for as long as we could, and fortunately, it did work out for us,” he said.
The game lasted only two hours and nine minutes, the shortest game so far this season.
The home game for the Guardians attracted 31,588 spectators to the Taipei Dome, the second-highest audience figure in club history. The Guardians against the Brothers is a popular contest in northern Taiwan.
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