The Chinatrust Whales began their 2008 campaign with a bang by blanking the Sinon Bulls 7-0 in Taichung on Tuesday evening.
Starter Steve Watkins of the US tossed seven five-hit innings of shutout ball and sluggers Carlos Villalobos of Colombia and Kao Jung-chiang backed him up with a pair of RBIs apiece.
The Whales wasted little time getting on the board with Villalobos doubling in two runs off Sinon starter Jose Espinal in the top of the first, followed by Lu Jung-hsiung's RBI-single to make it 3-0.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
The game turned into a pitchers' duel as Watkins and Espinal allowed their opposing hitters to reach second just once over the next five frames.
But with Espinal tiring after approximately 90 pitches and a Whales hitter reaching first with a one-out single in the top of the seventh, rookie outfielder Luo Jing-chang lined the ball down to the left-center gap for a run-scoring double to make it 4-0. Chinatrust tacked on three more runs in the eighth to take a commanding lead.
The Bulls managed eight scattered hits off the Whales pitching staff, but were unable to produce any runs in the process.
Leadoff man Cheng Hong-da's 3-for-4 outing with a double marked the lone spotlight for the hosts, whose fans might have expected great things after several of their heroes played leading roles in Taiwan's qualification for the Beijing Olympics.
Picking up the win for the Whales in his Taiwan debut was Watkins with seven strong innings of work. For the Bulls, Espinal was a victim of a lack of run support and a shaky defense that committed two errors.
His 10 strikeouts over seven innings drew an appreciative ovation from the crowd despite the loss.
T-Rex 6, Bears 1
Rookie La Jung-nan tossed his way into the record books by becoming the first left-hander to win his professional debut in the dmedia T-Rex's 6-1 triumph over the heavily favored La New Bears in Kaohsiung on Tuesday night.
Lai showed off his blazing speed, pitching above 140kph against a very potent Bears lineup that featured four starters from the Taiwan national squad. His two-hit gem over seven impeccable innings gave the T-Rex a terrific start to the season.
Veterans Wang Chuan-jia, Hsieh "The Ugly" Jia-shien, Ivanon Coffie and Chen Yuan-jia were the heart of a T-Rex offense that crushed the Bears pitchers for a combined 9-for-16 with four RBIs.
After his offense mustered four runs over the first three innings to spot him a 4-0 leaf, Lai cruised through the next four frames with minimal trouble en route to the win.
Apart from a hanging slider to the Bears' Huang Long-yi that ended up several rows into the centerfield bleachers for a solo home run, the southpaw was practically flawless.
Suffering the loss for the home Bears was starter Huang Jung-chung, who did not look particularly sharp after an arduous two month-long stint with the national team.
He allowed all six of the dmedia runs on 10 hits over five innings.
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