The Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday downed the CTBC Brothers 2-1, handing the hosts their second consecutive loss in the best-of-seven CPBL Taiwan Series at the Taipei Dome.
Monkeys’ ace starter Pedro Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dominated on the mound, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning.
He gave up only three hits and walked two batters in a 93-pitch outing, giving his Taoyuan-based team an edge.
Photo: CNA
Offensively, the Monkeys’ leadoff batter Lin Li hit Brothers starter Brandon Leibrandt’s pitch over the center-field wall in the game’s first at-bat, giving the Monkeys an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame.
Lin’s solo shot was only the second leadoff home run in the 30-plus years since the CPBL’s Taiwan Series was launched.
The Monkeys added another run in the top of the seventh inning, which was enough for the team to clinch the crucial game 2-1 and take a 2-0 series lead.
The Brothers had several chances to tie or even come from behind in the bottom of the eighth and the ninth, with no one out and runners in scoring position, but Monkeys relievers Chen Kuan-yu and closer Chu Cheng-yang managed to keep the Brothers scoreless on both occasions with timely groundouts and double plays.
In the history of the Taiwan Series, 16 of the 18 teams that won the first two games of the best-of-seven series went on to take the championship title.
The Monkeys and the Brothers had a day off yesterday before facing off again today at the Taipei Dome for Game 3.
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