Wang Hsin-min’s walk-off single off Lamigo closer Hsu Ming-jeh, with men on first and second and two outs, scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Sinon Bulls rallied past the Lamigo Monkeys in a wild 9-8 finish at the Hsinchu Municipal Baseball Stadium last night.
The timely swing by the versatile utility infielder capped a two-run rally by the Bulls, who trailed by as many as four runs in the seventh, before plating five unanswered runs over the final three frames to win it in the end.
Also starring was Cheng Da-hong, whose solo home run off normally sure-handed Hsu, who leads the league in saves with 27 in 32 chances heading into last night’s contest, tied the game at 8-all with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The game was all about the Monkeys over the first three innings as they scored six combined runs off Bulls starter Yang Jien-fu and reliever Lin Keh-chien to enjoy a comfortable 6-0 advantage.
However, the Bulls countered with a four-run fourth that saw them send 10 men to the plate to make it a 6-4 game, before the Primates tacked on a run in the fifth and the seventh to claim a seemingly secure 8-4 lead, setting the stage for one of the more dramatic comebacks of the year.
Earning his sixth win of the year was Bulls reliever Shen Yu-jeh, who pitched a perfect ninth to beat his counterpart Hsu.
ELEPHANTS 5, LIONS 3
The Brother Elephants swept their series against the Uni-President Lions with a victory at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night to extend their current winning streak to six straight games.
Starter Cheng Chi-hong followed fellow southpaw Tyler Lumsden’s three-hit gem the night before with a quality start of his own, allowing three runs on four hits over 6-1/3 innings of play to win his seventh game of the season.
Other than a solo blast that he served up to Liu Fu-hao to lead off the game, the former Toronto Blue Jays minor leaguer was rock solid through the sixth, before being lifted by skipper Chen Rei-chen for issuing back-to-back walks with one out in the seventh.
Offensively for the Elephants, designated hitter Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min’s 3 for 4 hitting with a pair of RBIs led a balanced lineup that had at least one hit against the five Lions hurlers that saw action on the night.
Failure to produce at the plate continued to trouble the Lions, whose anemic offense has averaged only two-and-a-half runs a game during their current six-game slide.
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