There are just a few games left of this half-season that is now dragging out thanks to the wet weather and an air of inevitability.

Lamigo Monkeys

Job well done for the Monkeys who now stand on the verge of their 5th consecutive half-season title. Only a freak combination of 5 Lamigo defeats and 5 Fubon victories would now prevent this.

Tuesday, and Lamigo took a 6-5 win at home to Uni Lions to complete a 10-0 home sweep of the Lions in the first phase. Going into the bottom of the 9th Lamigo trailed 5-4, tied it at 5 then thanks to a misapplied tag at home plate, the runner from 3rd made it home and got the victory.

This was followed up by a routine win over Brothers on Thursday. Leading 4-2 in the bottom of the 5th, Lamigo crunched Brothers reliever Wu Che Yuan for 4 hits, 4 runs over 0.2 innings, eventually scoring 6 in the inning. The game ended 10-5 Monkeys.

The phase was pretty much sealed on Friday as Lamigo made 10 hits and 6 runs off the league’s best pitcher Mike Loree. The Fubon ace struggled and Radhames Liz took the victory, throwing down 157kph fireballs, limiting Fubon to 2 hits over 7 innings. Final score, Guardians 1-6 Monkeys.

On Saturday. Lamigo continued to assert their dominance. At 1-1 in the bottom of the 5th, they started to take apart Fubon starter Chen Shih Peng then the bullpen. Lamigo led 12-2 after 7 and won comfortably despite 5 Fubon runs in the 9th. Chu Yu Hsien went 5 for 5, with 4 runs and 6 RBIs, he surely has to be an early contender for MVP.

So 32 wins 22 defeats and 1 tie after 55 games. Lamigo struggled in the opening 10-15 games, they are now 8-2 in their last 10 and look hard to stop.

Fubon Guardians

This was a week that could have been special, pushing Lamigo Monkeys to the wire but sadly, it didn’t work out like that.

Fubon were given an almighty scare on Wednesday. They hit 4 in the first inning then failed to score again, and trailed 7-4 in the bottom of the 9th. Fubon pulled a run back, loaded the bases and Lin Che Hsuan walked off with 3 RBI double off Xie Rong Hao, final score Brothers 7-8 Guardians.

Friday was not the night for a Mike Loree off night although when he is struggling, you know the team he is facing, is seriously good. He conceded 10 hits and 6 runs, and only 2 of the 11 Fubon hitters didn’t strike out. It was a tough night for the New Taipei based side, going down 6-1 in Taoyuan.

Saturday wasn’t much better, Fubon’s bullpen gave up 8 hits, 5 walks, and 9 runs between the 5th and 7th innings and left them 12-2 down after 7. 5 runs back in the top of the 9th but these runs were a mere consolation.

Sunday’s game at Taichung v Chinatrust Brothers was abandoned and will continue this Sunday.

28-26-1 after 55 games, Fubon may get to 30 wins but 3 of those games are at home to the red hot Monkeys.

Chinatrust Brothers

Brothers had an interesting week, as they travelled to each of the other three CPBL sides. Only one of these was a success though.

Wednesday saw Brothers go to Xinzhuang to face Fubon Guardians. They got off to a bad start, going 4-0 down after an inning but recovered to take a 7-4 lead going into the 9th. Unfortunately, Cheng Chia Yen gave up 1 hit and 2 walks to load the bases with 1 out. Xie Rong Hao came on, and Lin Che Hsuan blasted a game winning 3 run double, final score: Brothers 7 Guardians 8.

Thursday didn’t get much better as they ran into Lamigo Monkeys in Taoyuan. Brothers made 13 hits but could only get 5 runners home. The crucial inning was the 5th where Brothers conceded 6 runs to go 10-2 down, at 4-2, it would have been close. The game finished 10-5 Monkeys.

Onto Saturday and Brothers faced fellow 2019 strugglers, Uni Lions. They took an early 4-0 lead, only for the hosts to pull it back to 4-3. Chen Wen Jie put the game beyond doubt though with a 2 run homer to make it 6-3 Brothers. The closer Cheng Kai Wen struck out 2 as Brothers completed a good win, and notably struck out 14 Lions players during the game!

Sunday’s game was a chance to play one at each of 4 main stadiums in Taiwan in a week, alas, it was abandoned in the 3rd. Brothers and Fubon Guardians will try again on Sunday.

Uni Lions

The season started with optimism but quickly turned into a spiral of despair with most Lions fans begging for the 2nd phase.

On Tuesday, the rough luck in Taoyuan continued. The Lions have never gone 0.500 or better in Taoyuan during a season, and after the first 10 games, they now have 10 defeats. Leading 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th, Lamigo levelled at 5-5 then Lan Yin Lun hit a ground ball, as the runner came home, catcher Lin Yu Le couldn’t apply the tag and the Monkeys walked off. Chen Yun Wen now has 2 losses for the season, both against Lamigo and his ERA is up at 2.60.

Saturday was no better albeit with a far from full strength line-up. It was the last weekend game in Tainan for 3 weeks and not many turned up to watch it. Brothers led 4-0 in the middle of the 3rd only for Su Chih Chieh to make it 4-2 with a 2 run shot. The game was characterised by the Lions failing to advance runners when there were chances to get runs. 14 strikeouts on the day, and in a way, this game optimised the Lions half season.

25-32-1 with 2 games in Tainan to come, both against Lamigo Monkeys. Can the Lions end the half season on a high?

This week’s fixtures

Lamigo Monkeys v Uni Lions @ Tainan on Tues/Wed at 6:35pm

Fubon Guardians v Chinatrust Brothers on Tues at 6:35pm, and continuing from the 3rd inning, on Sunday at 5:05pm.

Lamigo Monkeys v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Thurs/Fri at 6:35pm and 5:05pm on Saturday.