Kuo Yen-wen’s three-run homer off starter Cheng Chi-hung in the top of the first gave the Lamigo Monkeys a quick 3-0 lead as the Primates went on to defeat the Chinatrust Brothers 6-4 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night for their third straight win.
It was the second multi-run homer that the Lamigo slugger has registered this month, giving him 23 RBIs just 24 games into the season.
“[Cheng] just hung the curve ball too high, so I was able to put good wood on the ball,” Kuo said after the game.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Cheng had retired the first two Lamigo batters he faced to start off the game before serving up consecutive hits to set up Kuo’s blast.
The Primates followed Kuo’s three-run shot with another run in the opening frame to spot starter Jared Lansford a 4-0 lead that the US righty rode all the way to his fourth victory and first complete game of the season.
Even though the Brothers rang up runs in the second, fifth and seventh to draw within two, they never seemed a serious threat, with Lansford well in control of his pitches and the Monkeys offense providing more hitting to answer every Chinatrust challenge.
Lansford was awarded the game-MVP honor for his outstanding effort as he improved to 4-1 for the season.
Charged with his second loss of the season was Cheng, who lasted only three innings against a potent Lamigo lineup who collected four runs off him on six hits and five walks.
RHINOS 1, LIONS 2
The Uni-President Lions roughed up the top-ranked EDA Rhinos, erupting for a season-high 21 runs at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium last night to even the weekend series at one win apiece.
Chou Kuan-sheng’s first-inning grand slam off Rhinos starter Ryan Rowland-Smith proved to be the beginning of a slugfest for the Cats as they teed off against six different hurlers.
It was Chou’s first career slam on a night he went 2-for-5 with four RBIs and scored three times.
In addition to Chou, five other Lions hitters had multi-RBI nights, led by Chen Chun-hui’s four-high outing with three RBIs to account for the bulk of the damage done against the generous Rhinos pitching.
Pocketing his second win of the season was Lions starter Wang Ching-ming, who evened his season mark at 2-2 with one allowed run on eight hits to beat his counterpart Rowland-Smith, who fell to 1-4 for the year.
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