Wei Chuan Dragons with second homer of the game by Liu Ji-hong in bottom of 14th inning
to prevail for 3-2 win over Rakuten Monkeys, for Taipei-based Dragons to take one game lead to open
the Taiwan Series at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei last night.
Photo: CNA
The teams were tied at 2-2 at end of the ninth inning, sending the opener of the CPBL championship finals into extra innings, and had no scoring until Liu took the big swing to become the hero in the 14th frame.
It is the first time the two teams have met in the Taiwan Series, a best-of-seven competition.
Despite being four-time champions, the Wei Chuan club was disbanded in 1999, only rejoining the top flight in 2021 after a year in a lower competition.
Photo: CNA
The Monkeys have been CPBL champions seven times after the franchise entered the league in 2003.
The Dragons started star pitcher Hsu Jo-hsi in Game 1.
He was a rookie sensation in 2021, but was plagued by injuries that sidelined him for all of last year.
Photo: CNA
He had made only five appearances in the regular season this year, pitching 15-1/3 innings for an ERA of 1.17.
The Monkeys started Pedro Fernandez from the Dominican Republic on the mound. He played in the Mexican League and in farm teams of the MLB’s Kansas City Royals.
He had a 4-1 record with an ERA of 2.09 in eight regular-season starts since joining the Monkeys in August.
Photo: CNA
In the first inning, Fernandez walked the lead batter, then fanned the next two.
Dragons third baseman Liu Ji-hong drilled a hanging slider for a two-run shot to take his team ahead early.
The Monkeys loaded the bases in the fifth frame on two hits and a fielding error with no outs, prompting the Dragons to drag Hsu for lefty Lo Hua-wei, who walked the next batter to allow a run.
Reliever Wang Yao-lin got a fly out and induced a grounder that allowed a double play to prevent further damage.
The Monkeys tied it at 2-2 in eighth inning, when shortstop Lin Cheng-fei tagged Dragons pitcher Bryan Woodall of the US for a double before outfielder Chu Yu-hsien sent him home with an RBI-single.
The Monkey’s own American reliever, Bradin Hagens, did well in the bottom of the eighth. With two runners on base and only one out, Hagens struck out Wei Chuan outfiedler Kuo Tien-hsin, then got home-run specialist Liu to line out at third base to get out of the jam.
Game 2 is slated to start at 5pm today at the Tianmu stadium.
Games 3 and 4 are to be played at Taoyuan Baseball Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday with 6:30pm starts.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS