The CTBC Brothers clinched the first game of the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s (CPBL’s) best-of-seven Taiwan Series against the Rakuten Monkeys 5-3 in Taoyuan on Saturday.
The Brothers were the first to put numbers on the scoreboard starting from the top of the first inning after designated hitter Chen Tzu-hao (陳子豪) singled to the left outfield off Monkeys starting pitcher Dylan Covey to send outfielder Yueh Cheng-hua (岳政華) back to the home plate from second base.
The scoring continued as third baseman Huang Wei-sheng (黃韋盛) hit a two-RBI single to let first baseman Hsu Chi-hung (許基宏) and left fielder Chen Wen-jie (陳文杰) score and extend the score to 3-0.
Excitement ensued in the bottom of the fourth as Monkeys catcher Lin Hung-yu (林泓育) hit a solo home run off Brothers starter José de Paula that went flying over the left field to give the Taoyuan team its first run of the night.
Another Monkeys solo home run followed in the bottom of the seventh as first baseman Chen Hung-wen (陳俊秀) sent the ball high over the left outfield to make it a one-run game 3-2.
The Brothers answered back in the top of the ninth with Chen Wen-jie hitting a two-run double off Monkeys reliever Chen Yu-hsun (陳禹勳) to center field for Hsu and Chen Tzu-hao to score, extending their lead to 5-2.
Lin knocked out another solo home run, this time off reliever Lu Yen-ching (呂彥青), high over center field in the bottom of the ninth to make the score 5-3, which is how the game ended.
Brothers head coach Lin Wei-chu (林威助) said at the post-game press conference that his team performed well offensively in the first inning and de Paula also pitched relatively stable.
“The opponent has a very strong batting lineup, so we will need to score quickly and put up defensively until the end to win the next game,” Lin said.
The Taiwan Series is the championship series of the CPBL and will continue with the second game between the Brothers and the Monkeys on Sunday in Taoyuan.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel