The Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday were crowned CPBL half-season champions after they crushed the Wei Chuan Dragons 10-2 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.
It was their 14th half-season title and a first for Rakuten Group, which acquired the Monkeys in 2019 from La New Corp.
The Dragons opened the scoring in the top of the third inning, when outfielder Lin Hsiao-cheng ran home after batting a single and stealing second base.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The Monkeys rallied in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs to lead 3-1 following successive hits by Lin Li and Cheng Chin.
Monkeys starting pitcher Wang Yi-cheng pitched five solid innings, allowing only two runs and six hits with one walk.
The Taoyuan team kept up their strong play, topping the Dragons with seven more runs to claim the victory in Taoyuan in front of more than 12,000 spectators.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Lin was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
It was the Rakuten Monkeys’ first half-season title under manager Tseng Hao-chu, who said the next goal would be to win the CPBL regular-season title.
Tseng said that to win the title would mean a lot for Rakuten, the players and coaches.
Relief pitcher Chen Yu-hsun, who took over the mound from Wang and kept the Dragons’ batters at bay, said the half-season title was a special one for him and the team.
It was Chen’s 100th win in his career as a reliever in the CPBL and his 10th this season.
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