Chen Guan-ren’s two-run single capped a four-run fifth that broke a 4-all tie to give the Brother Elephants the edge they needed to defeat the Sinon Bulls 9-6 at the Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win not only extended the Elephants’ winning streak to three in a row, but also padded their lead over the second-place Uni-President Lions to a second-half high of eight games as they head into the final stretch of a long season.
Chou Si-chi’s RBI single got things moving in the right direction for the visiting Elephants as they sent eight men to the plate against Sinon starter Lin Keh-chien to ring up four quick runs in the top of the first.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The Bulls answered in the bottom of the same inning with three runs off Elephants starter Lee Hao-ren and eventually tied it up in the third when Chang “Prince of the Forest” Tai-shan led off the inning with a double and scored two outs later on Cheng Jau-han’s lining single to right.
After the Elephants reclaimed their second four-run lead of the game in the fifth, the Bulls managed one more run in the sixth on Chen Chih-wei’s sacrifice fly, but that was as close as they got, with each club trading a run in the seventh to conclude the scoring.
Picking up the win was Lee, who improved to 3-1 for the year with four allowed runs (only one earned) on seven hits over five innings. He allowed a season-high five walks, but managed to beat his counterpart Lin, who lasted four-plus innings, giving up eight runs on seven hits and three walks to fall to 8-5 for the year.
LIONS 2, BEARS 1
The Uni-President Lions held off an all-out rally by the La New Bears in the ninth to escape with a narrow 2-1 victory in Tainan on Tuesday, jumpstarting the week of play on a high note.
Three different Lions pitchers held a potent Bears attack to three hits over eight scoreless innings before closer Lin Yueh-ping allowed back-to-back hits after two outs in the ninth to lose the shutout bid.
The late-game drama did not rattle Lin, however, as he regrouped in a hurry and retired the last Bears batter on a lazy grounder to second to end the game.
Newcomer Nerio Rodriguez was magnificent with a one-hit gem through the sixth, while relievers Lin Cheng-fong and Kao Jien-san did their part to keep the 2-0 shutout intact after eight innings of play.
Leading the attack for the home Cats was Jose Castillo, whose RBI single in the third proved to have made all the difference in the game.
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