Just two games for each side last week, so this will be a shorter report than usual. I will be splitting this by series to see if this style works better.

Chinatrust Brothers v Lamigo Monkeys

So both sides had swept their weekend series so something had to give in Taoyuan. What happened on Tuesday was completely unexpected as Chinatrust Brothers became the first away side in 3 years to score 20 runs. The last side to do that was Uni Lions who beat Brothers 22-13 in Luodong in 2016. This game was not as close as Brothers romped to a 20-5 victory.

Brothers set the tone in the 2nd inning with 8 runs and by the end of the 4th were already 14-3 ahead. They won efficiently with the 20 runs coming off 21 hits with Chen Tzu-hao scoring three home runs. Admittedly this came against some of Lamigo’s lesser pitchers such as Wang Wei-chun, Jiang Guo-qian and Yeh Chia-chi. All five pitchers conceded multiple times. A bit of a lesson for the Lamigo youngsters.

Wednesday was the reverse as Lamigo led 12-2 after 5 innings and would go on to win 12-5. Lamigo shredded new Brothers pitcher Casey Harman who had started his CBPL career without conceding a run, on this occasion he lasted 3.2 with stats of 11H, 8R and 3 homers. Lamigo made 17 hits and 4 homers on the night, the in-form Lin Li with 4 hits/1HR of his own.

Brothers are 8-7 in the 2nd phase. Lamigo Monkeys are 7-7.

Uni Lions v Fubon Guardians

This series was less run intensive but like the other series was split. Sunday’s loss at Brothers was cruel for Uni Lions, Wednesday’s was worse. Josh Roenicke gave up just 3 hits and a run in 6 innings, but the hitters couldn’t find a way past Bollinger and the two Fubon relievers. 5 hits for the Lions but no runs, as a result, Fubon Guardians came away 1-0 winners. The Lions on the receiving end of a shut-out for the 3rd time in 4 games.

Thursday saw Ryan Verdugo take on Mike Loree. A pitcher under pressure and without a win in 8 starts v the one pitcher no-one likes facing. A team under pressure v a side sitting top of the CPBL 2nd phase table. Of course, any preconceptions about this game went out the window, this is the CPBL. Loree gave up 7H, 7R despite striking 9 out in his opening 5. As for Ryan Verdugo, just 5H and 1R given away in 6 innings. A comfortable 8-1 win for Uni Lions as the bullpen didn’t even concede a hit, one of those good CPBL nights for the Lions.

Fubon stayed top, 9-6 whilst Uni Lions remain cut adrift, 3.5 games back with a 5-9 record.

This week’s schedule

Uni Lions v Lamigo Monkeys – Tues/Wed at 6:35pm in Taoyuan.

Chinatrust Brothers v Fubon Guardians – Wed/Thurs at 6:35pm at Xinzhuang.

Lamigo Monkeys v Fubon Guardians – Fri at 6:35pm, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm at Xinzhuang.

Chinatrust Brothers v Uni Lions – Fri at 6:35pm, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm in Tainan.

The second full week of the second phase is already complete and the CPBL’s All-Star game is at Xinzhuang Stadium in New Taipei City this weekend.

Chinatrust Brothers

Why not start with the most successful team from this past week?

On Tuesday Brothers took on Fubon at ‘home’ in Kaohsiung and despite a tense 7 inning battle between Mitch Lively and Bryan Woodall on the mound, Brothers prevailed. Lively gave up just 7H, 1BB in his 7 as Brothers led 1-0, then scored 5 runs in the 8th in an eventual 6-1 win.

Wednesday’s game was the only downside to Brothers week and it was a topsy turvy game, to say the least. Fubon led 6-4 after 8 innings, increased their lead to 7 before a bottom of the 9th comeback sent the game to a 10th. Chen Bo-hao gave up his second run in the top of the 10th and this time, they’d be no comeback, final score: Guardians 8-7 Brothers.

The weekend series against Uni Lions looked to be an enticing match-up between the CPBL’s weakest two sides in 2019. Instead of a great match-up, Brothers completely dominated.

On Friday, new pitcher Casey Harman gave up just one hit in 6 innings as Brothers combined for a 3 hit shut-out. Final score: Lions 0-4 Brothers.

Saturday saw rookie Liao Yi-zhong pitch an astonishing 120 times over 8 innings, he gave up 4 runs early on as Brothers led 9-4 after 4 innings. He would give away just 1 more run in the 8th as his side cruised to a 10-6 win.

Talking of cruising, Mitch Lively was given his second start of the week on Sunday and once again, Brothers had a combined shut-out. This time around, Brothers conceded 5 hits rather 3 and scored 16 rather 4! The mauling began with Su Wei-da’s grand slam in the 2nd and Brothers relentlessly gnawed away at the Lions pitchers. That final score for a second time: Lions 0-16 Brothers. Astonishing.

Brothers are 7-6, a game behind Fubon Guardians.

Lamigo Monkeys

The Taoyuan based Monkeys started the second phase a bit slow and that continued on Wednesday evening in Tainan against Uni Lions. The scores were locked at 0-0 after 3 before a mid-game explosion from the hosts, Lions would score 9 runs in 4 innings and go on to complete a 9-4 win.

Thursday’s game was off due to rain and the Monkeys went into the weekend series 3-6 against the 8-2 Guardians. Like the other series, this looked very appetising, like the other series, one side completely dominated.

On Friday Kuo Yun Wen was the star player with a 3 run homer in the 4th and a 3 run double in the 8th in an 11-3 Monkeys win.

Saturday’s game was bit closer but regular runs put Lamigo 4-0 ahead after 6. Fubon got within 2 before the home side’s hitters quite regained control. The final score: Guardians 3-8 Monkeys. Interestingly, first phase MVP Chu Yu-hsien was the only Monkeys player NOT to make a hit!

The series ended with a second 11-3 win. Wang Yi-cheng pitched a solid 6 innings giving up 7H, 2R but his job was made easier in the opening 1.1 innings. Lamigo destroyed You Ting-wai, scoring 7 runs in that opening 1.1 and led 8-0 after 2, going on to complete the aforementioned 11-3 win.

Lamigo Monkeys are 6-6, 1.5 games behind Fubon Guardians.

Fubon Guardians

It doesn’t take long for things to change in the CPBL and in Fubon Guardians last 5 games, that theory has been proved.

The week started with a trip to Chinatrust Brothers who were at home in Kaohsiung. Fubon ran into a solid Mitch Lively despite Bryan Woodall’s best outing of the season. Woodall conceded a single run in 7 innings and Fubon scored nothing against Lively. Brothers went onto win 6-1, and it looks like Bryan Woodall may well have pitched his last game as he is now 2-9 with an ERA over 5.

Wednesday’s game was a thriller and neither starting pitcher had any impact. Leading 7-4 going into the bottom of the 9th the usually reliable Chen Hong-wen managed to concede 4 hits, 3 runs, blow the save and let the game go to a 10th. Still, he got his 4th win of 2019 as Fubon got the winning run in the top of 10th. Guardians 8-7 Brothers was how it ended. Baseball can be such a strange sport at times!

On Friday, Fubon were on the road again and this time they had the short trip to Taoyuan. Mike Loree on the mound but he picked his 5th loss of the year, giving up 5 runs over 7 innings. Lamigo hit 6 more runs after he departed, Guardians 3-11 Monkeys was how it finished.

Last Saturday Chen Shih-peng had a very good game against Uni Lions, this time around he struggled. 12 hits, 5 runs in the opening 4.1 saw Chen taken out the game. They were held to 0 by Radhames Liz in the opening 6 and never looked like getting back into it. Fubon would score 3 runs, but so would Lamigo, it ended Guardians 3-8 Monkeys.

You Ting-wai also had a fantastic game against Uni Lions last time around, but like Chen, he was dismantled, albeit in rather more brutal fashion. 8 hits, 7 runs in 44 pitches with just 1.1 innings pitched, ouch. Fubon never recovered and would go onto lose 11-3.

Fubon Guardians are now 8-6, just 1 game ahead of Chinatrust Brothers.

Uni Lions

What can you say about Uni Lions in 2019? This is a team, on pace to not even reach 50 wins.

The midweek series was halved as Thursday’s game was cancelled due to a torrential downpour mid-afternoon. Wednesday’s game was unaffected and resulted in a surprisingly comfortable victory. Josh Roenicke had his first start since May after suffering an abdominal injury and pitched for 5 innings, 6H, 2R, 1BB. His return would not have any impact on the game as scores were level after 5. The Lions would score 7 runs in the 6th and 7th innings and record a superb 9-4 victory.

The weekend was anything but superb. On paper it looked like Uni Lions v Brothers would be a good match-up, it wasn’t. On Friday in Taichung, Uni Lions made 3 hits and 3 errors in a 4-0 defeat.

Saturday rather summed up the season as a whole. Shih Tzu-chien had issues from the second inning, giving away 5H, 6R and 2BBs in his 3 innings as the Lions trailed 6-2. The score would be pulled back to 6-4, and crafty leftie Jiang Chen-yen was brought on, having not got his weekly start due to Thursday’s rain. 5H, 4R and 1BB in his three innings. Two Taiwanese starters who had had great 2018 seasons, but sadly, have just not been consistent in 2019. Trailing 10-4 after 6, a comeback always looked unlikely. Perhaps what made it worse for Lions fans is the fact Brothers rookie Liao Yi-zhong pitched 120 balls in 8 innings. It ended Lions 6-10 Brothers.

Sunday was the low point of the season of the Lions season. Pan Wei-lun has for his last six starts been chasing a record-equalling 141st CPBL win. Once Su Wei-da hit a 2nd inning grand slam, that seemed unlikely. The Lions struggled against Mitch Lively and the pitching may kindly be described as sub-par. Wang Yu-pu pitched 20 balls in the 6th, 6 hits, 5 runs (4 earned) and 0 outs, an inning where Brothers went from 5-0 ahead to 13-0 ahead. The game finished, Uni Lions 0 Chinatrust Brothers 16.

Uni Lions are 4-8 in the second phase, but more crucially now 4 games behind Brothers in the overall standings. If Lamigo Monkeys win the 2nd phase, 2nd and 3rd will play in the first round of the playoffs. Lions are 4th.

This week’s fixtures

Chinatrust Brothers v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Tues/Wed at 6:35pm.

Uni Lions v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Wed/Thurs at 6:35pm

 

 

The first full week of second phase CPBL action is over so it is time to look at how the four teams got on.

Fubon Guardians

Why not start with the Guardians? They are clearly the team in form and finally look to have gained some consistency that they’ve lacked sorely over the last 18 months or so.

The midweek series at home to Lamigo Monkeys resulted in a sweep although Wednesday’s win was a tad fortuitous. With two on base, two outs, tied at 7-7 in the bottom of the 9th Ipong walked and then Lin Wei-Ting also walked to give the Guardians an 8-7 win.

Thursday’s game resulted in a slightly easier, less heart-stopping win. Fubon came from 2-0 behind to go 3-2 up in the 5th then added 4 more in the 7th inning. Ryan Bollinger had a quality start and is 3-1 in the CPBL.

The weekend series against Uni Lions was a bit odd. On Friday Mike Loree had a quality start of his own as Fubon led 4-1 after 6. Zhang Chun-Long and Fan Yu-Yu gave up 3 hits, 4 runs and a walk between them over 0.1 inning as the bullpen let this slip away. Lai Hong-Cheng also gave up 2 hits and a run of his own as Uni Lions went 6-4 ahead. No comeback from the hitters and Fubon lost their first game of the second phase 6-4.

Saturday’s game was a drab affair but Fubon’s pitchers had an impressive day on the mound. Just a single run and two hits were given up, and after breaking a 1-1 tie in the 5th, Fubon added 3 extra runs in the 8th to easily win 5-1.

Sunday was closer and more competitive. You Ting Wai had Fubon’s fourth consecutive quality start on the mound, giving up 6H, 1R over 7.0 innings. At 1-1 with 2 down in the top of the 9th the visiting Guardians quickly took apart Alec Asher and took a 2-1 lead that would hold thanks to Chen Hong Wen’s 11th save of the season, he now has a very impressive 1.07 ERA over 32 appearances.

Lamigo Monkeys

Just like in the first phase, Lamigo have started the second phase slowly. Their midweek trip to Xinzhuang Stadium was one without success. In a rare lapse, the usually reliable Huang Tzu Peng gave up 2 hits in the bottom of the 9th but managed to get two outs with the score locked at 7-7. Incredibly he then gave two walks, to give Fubon Guardians a walk-off home win.

Thursday’s game started reasonably well, leading 2-0 in the middle of the 5th against the Guardians. Things then went wrong…Michael Nix would end up giving away 5H, 6R and 4 walks. Fubon would go on to win 8-3.

A weekend trip to Taichung against Chinatrust Brothers seemed to be a good place to get back to form after three straight defeats. No? On Friday all the drama came late, as Lamigo scored 4 runs in the top of the 7th to come from 5-3 down to go 7-5 ahead. Huang Tzu Peng came to the mound and suddenly he had his 2nd loss in 3 nights, 2 hits, a walk and 3 runs over 0.1 put Brothers 8-7 ahead. The home side would score another run and win 9-7.

Radhames Liz was the latest Monkeys pitcher to have an unusually bad game on Saturday. 7H, 8R and 4BBs left Brothers 8-2 ahead after 5 innings and Lamigo never recovered, losing 10-6 with 4 of their runs in the top of the 9th.

Sunday and finally Lamigo Monkey’s luck changed. They dismantled Brothers reliever/starter Huang En Tzu, with 7 hits and 5 runs, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to end up taking a 6-4 victory.

Lamigo are 3-5 for the second phase, with their play-off place secure for the 3rd straight season, there is no cause for alarm.

Chinatrust Brothers

Brothers had a mixed week, going 3-2 and after being swept in the opening round, that’s progress.

On Tuesday they travelled to Chengcing Lake to take on Uni Lions, things didn’t quite go so well. Nick Additon started and over 3 innings he gave the Lions 6H and 6R with a walk, unfortunately for him, he was released the following day. On the hitting side of things, Brothers made just a run and got five hits as they fell to a 9-1 defeat.

Wednesday’s game that was moved to Thursday and there was regular scoring that resulted in the game locked at 6-6 after 8 innings. Neither side could score in the 9th but Chan Tzu Hsien brought home pinch-runner Lin Shu-Yi to put Brothers 7-6 ahead, Cheng Kai-Wen saw the game out and it was 7-6 victory.

The weekend series against Lamigo Monkeys went well. On Friday despite a bullpen wobble, Brothers came out on top. They had led 5-3 going into the 7th, but conceded 4 runs to go behind. They immediately followed it up with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th and grabbed a 9-7 win.

Saturday wasn’t expected to be easy, Radhames Liz has pitched well this year for Lamigo Monkeys but Brothers had fun at his expense, 8 runs in the opening 4.0 in an easy 10-6 win. Young starter Liao Yi-Zhong had a good game, giving up 9H, 2R over 4.2 and will probably stay in the first team.

Sunday was not a sweep of Lamigo Monkeys and young Huang En-Tzu had a disastrous appearance after Casey Harman’s debut went solidly. Harman only pitched 3 innings giving away 4H and no runs. Harman would usually have had a go in the second team but due to rain cancelling most recent second team games, go thrown straight into the first team. As for Huang, 7H, 5R over 2.2 resulted in Lamigo Monkeys turning a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead. Brothers went onto lose, 6-4.

So, 3-4 over 7 games to start the phase with leaves them level with Lamigo Monkeys and Uni Lions who are also 3-4.

Uni Lions

It was a mixed week for the Lions too and after beating Lamigo Monkeys in Taoyuan for the first time in 14 attempts, things carried over to Tuesday. Chen Chong Ting hit 5 RBIs in a convincing 9-1 win over Chinatrust Brothers in Kaohsiung. Shih Tzu Chien had a great outing, 4H, 1R over 6.2.

Wednesday’s game was rained out and rearranged for Thursday, but it went OK, until the 10th inning. Uni Lions had tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the 8th and after the game went to 10, Alec Asher gave up 2 hits and ultimately the winning run. Brothers edging this one 7-6.

Friday saw Mike Loree come to Tainan but he was a non-factor. Fubon’s relievers were in a generous mood, and the Lions went from 4-1 down to 6-4 ahead in the 7th inning. Ryan Verdugo started, Josh Roenicke made a relief appearance on his way back from injury (pardon the pun) and Alec Asher closed and got a save. 3 foreign pitchers for one team, in one game, a CPBL rarity. A 6-4 win for the Lions.

Zhuang Chun Kai’s first big league home run was the main Lions highlight in a poor game on Saturday. Just 2 hits for the Lions all evening as Fubon easily won 5-1.

Sunday’s game was tied at 1-1 in the top of the 9th, and after 4 pitches, 2 outs, things looked good for the Lions. Asher gave up three consecutive hits and as a result, what would turn out to be the winning run. 2 defeats, 2 saves in 5 appearances for the new Lions pitcher. Final score, Guardians 2 Lions 1.

Uni Lions are 3-4 after 7 games.

This week’s fixtures

Fubon Guardians v Chinatrust Brothers @ Chengcing Lake on Tues/Wed at 6:35pm

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

Uni Lions v Chinatrust Brothers @ Taichung I.C on Fri at 6:35pm and Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

Fubon Guardians v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Fri at 6:35pm and Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

So welcome to the second phase, there is one important question…will Lamigo Monkeys win their sixth consecutive phase and 3rd title in a row?

Uni Lions

For Lions fans going into the first week of the second phase, there was another question…would they finally break an 11 game losing streak in Taoyuan?

Friday’s game saw Ryan Verdugo head to the mound and he put in another below-par display. Verdugo gave up 6 hits, 6 runs in the opening 4 as the Lions went 6-0 down. Lo Guo Long made 4 hits in 5ABs and a comeback of sorts was mounted, but Lamigo were 7-4 winners.

Saturday’s game was more of the usual kind of Lions display in Taoyuan, play OK then concede a load of runs in one inning. 2-1 up, Jiang Chen-Yen began the collapse, 4 hits, 6 walks and he conceded 5 of Lamigo 7 in the 4th inning. 8-2 down after 4, Lamigo added two more in the 5th and 6th, Lions lost 12-2.

Sunday, was it to be the day? Uni Lions lead 2-0 going into the 7th before Fu Yu-Gang conceded a two-run homer to Lin Cheng-Fei. Was it a case of here we go again? No! Luo Guo-Long hit a two-run homer of his own off Lin Bai You to make it 4-2 in the top of the 9th and Lions newbie Alec Asher got the save! 13 consecutive defeats in Taoyuan, the run is over!

Chinatrust Brothers

From one first phase struggler to another, how did Brothers fare in their opening series of the second phase against Fubon Guardians?

The answer is not very well! On Friday they led 4-0 going into the bottom of the 6th inning only for Mitch Lively to give up the game losing Grand Slam to ex Brothers star, Chiang Chih-Hsien. It ended 5-4 Guardians.

Elih Villanueva had a quality start, giving up just a solitary hit and Brothers led 1-0 against Mike Loree and the Guardians after 6. The bullpen stuttered, Jiang Zhong-Cheng giving up a hit, 2 walks and ultimately the game, as he conceded 2 runs. Brothers couldn’t mount a fightback against Loree or Chen Hong-Wen and fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Sunday was now better, 1-0 up after 1 then went 3-1 down after 5 innings. 3 runs in the top of 6th tied it, but young starter Liao Yi Zhong gave up 2 more runs, as did reliever Chiu Pin Rui. Brothers were 8-4 down after the 6th and despite two quick runs back in the 7th, couldn’t manage anymore. Brothers 6-8 Guardians was how it ended.

Lamigo Monkeys

So the champions who have exerted plenty of dominance over Uni Lions this year. There has almost been a level of inevitability about this Monkeys side against the Lions this year and on Friday/Saturday, that continued.

On Friday, Lamigo took control over the game and hit regular runs against Ryan Verdugo to go 6-0 ahead, Liao Chien-Fu and Lin Li both hitting home runs. The game would end 7-4 but it was an efficient display, 7 runs off 8 hits and Chu Yu-Hsien and Lan Yin-Lun both struck out three times in three at-bats.

Saturday was a typical Lamigo win, give your opponent a little bit of hope and then proceed to savage them in one inning. Lions Jiang Chen Yen may well have helped, giving up 6 walks and only 4 hits, as Lamigo turned a 2-1 deficit into an 8-2 lead in the 4th. 4 more runs followed, and the result was a 13th consecutive home win over Uni Lions.

A rare off day came on Sunday, Lamigo failed to score in the opening 4 and only made 4 hits, going 2-0 down. Lin Li’s two-run blast levelled the game at 2-2 but the usually reliable Lin Bai-You gave up a two-run home run to Luo Guo Long. Lions closer Alec Asher saw the game out, and the Monkeys had lost. Just 2 runs, 5 hits and 3 errors, definitely an uncharacteristic display from the Monkeys.

Fubon Guardians

And so we turn to Fubon Guardians, who as you may have read above claimed a series victory over Chinatrust Brothers.

On Friday, a 4-0 deficit was quickly turned into a 5-4 lead in the 6th. Wang Chung-Tang’s RBI made it 4-1. Hu Jin-Long and Lin Yu-Chuan loaded the bases with 1 out before former Brothers star Chiang Chih-Hsien hit a grand slam and that was all they needed as Fubon ran out 5-4 winners.

Mike Loree put in a display you would typically find from someone like Mike Loree! He gave up 5 hits and 1 run in 8 innings, Fubon got only made a single hit off Villanueva but got 2 runs off Jiang Cheng-Zhong who gave up 2 walks and a hit. No more runs scored, Fubon won 2-1.

Sunday’s game was probably the most entertaining. The Guardians went 3-1 ahead before the bullpen gave up three runs as Brothers took a 4-3 lead in the top of 6th. It seemed to fire up Fubon’s hitters who scored 5 runs off the pitching of Liao Yi-Zhong, Chiu Pin-Rui and Guan Da-Yuan in the bottom of the 6th. No further score and 14 hits for Fubon in an 8-6 victory, runs and hits spread quite evenly across the team.

This week’s schedule

Chinatrust Brothers v Uni Lions @ Chengcing Lake on Tues/Wed at 6:35pm

Lamigo Monkeys v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Wed/Thur at 6:35pm

Fubon Guardians v Uni Lions @ Tainan on Fri at 6:35pm, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

Lamigo Monkeys v Chinatrust Brothers @ Taichung I.C on Fri at 6:35pm, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

So, I obviously have written this a full week late which makes it all completely irrelevant but for the sake of continuity, I have written it anyway!

The big news from this week was the resignation of Lions coach Huang Kan Lin and Lamigo Monkeys clinching the first phase.

Uni Lions

The half season ended with two defeats for the Lions and Huang Kan Lin’s resignation. On Tuesday 25th June, it started so well for the Tainan side as they took an early 4-0 lead and Jiang Chen-Yen gave up just 2H, 1R in the opening 6. On came the bullpen and 3 runs in the 8th put Lamigo 5-4 ahead. No Lions reply and this clinched the first half-season for the Monkeys.

On Wednesday saw defeat number 7 in a row also against Lamigo Monkeys. The Lions lead 3-2 after 6 innings and yet again the bullpen surrendered the lead, 3 runs in the 8th made 5-3 Monkeys, a run back but then 2 more in the 9th, final score: Lamigo 7-4 Lions.

Uni Lions finished the phase with a disappointing 25-1-34 record.

Lamigo Monkeys

5 games ahead with 5 to go, 1 win was that Lamigo Monkeys needed and they ended with three.

They started with a pair of midweek wins in Tainan against Uni Lions. On Tuesday Lin Li hit a two-run, game-winning shot to put the Monkeys 5-4 ahead in the 8th and that was the first half season won. They continued their ruthless run against Uni Lions on Wednesday, ending 15-5 against them with a 7-4 win.

So, to Xinzhuang for a Thursday to Saturday series against Fubon Guardians and Mike Loree got the better of Su Chun-Yu on Thursday evening. Su who has a questionable 1-8 record in the 2nd team gave up 5 hits, 8 runs and 2 walks in the opening two innings. Lamigo trailed 9-0 after 2 innings and despite attempting a comeback, fell short and lost 10-7.

Friday saw Wang Yi Cheng take on Ryan Bollinger, and it was once again, the foreign pitcher taking the win. Wang gave up 12 hits and 5 runs as Fubon came away 5-2 winners.

Saturday saw Hong Sheng Xin handed the ball to make just his 9th start in 130 appearances. He gave up a respectable 6H, 3R inside 5 innings. Lamigo scored regularly after breaking a 3-3 tie in the 4th and ran out 11-4 winners.

Lamigo ended the half-season as champions with a dominant 35-1-24 record, 3.5 ahead of Fubon Guardians.

Fubon Guardians

Fubon only had a tiny chance of winning the phase and the chance was ended on Tuesday evening courtesy of a 4-4 tie at Chinatrust Brothers and Lamigo Monkeys winning. Fubon trailed 4-2 after 2 innings, levelled it in the 8th but neither side could score after that in a game that went on for nearly 5 hours.

4 further games for Fubon after that including a 3 game home series v Lamigo Monkeys, not it mattered for much. Mike Loree got a routine win, as Fubon’s batters took Lamigo pitcher Su Chun-Yu apart in the opening 2 innings. Final score, Monkeys 7-10 Guardians.

On Friday Ryan Bollinger had another impressive start and victory, as Fubon won 5-2. Saturday was the low point of this 3 game series, Chen Shih Peng struggled early on giving up 6H, 6R (4ER) and Lamigo Monkeys ended up recording an 11-4 win.

To Taichung to end the week, and phase. This game had been abandoned with the score 3-2 Fubon the previous weekend. Fubon hit 5 runs in the 7th inning of the continuation of this game and ended phase one with a 9-5 victory. You Ting Wai pitched the bulk of it and got the 2nd win of his career.

Fubon Guardians ended the half season with a 31-2-27 record, 3.5 behind Lamigo Monkeys.

Chinatrust Brothers

Like for Uni Lions, Chinatrust Brothers first phase was not one to write home about. They ended this with a tie and a defeat. Tuesday’s game saw them take an early 4-2 lead against Fubon Guardians then proceeded to go scoreless for the next 10 innings, Fubon levelled in the 8th and it ended 4-4.

Sunday’s game v Fubon saw Liao Yi Zhong continue pitching after the game had been abandoned a week ago. He would take the loss giving up 6H, 4R but Huang En Tzu gave up 5H, 5R and 1BB in a disastrous 7th inning when Fubon were just 4-2 ahead. A rough end to the half season for Brothers and they ended the phase with a 26-2-32 record.

This week’s fixtures (already played)

Uni Lions v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan – Friday at 6:35, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

Chinatrust Brothers v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang – Friday at 6:35, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

 

I will be bringing up week 15’s report later today.

There is something quite captivating about Taiwan and its mountains, isn’t there? If you haven’t been blessed with the fortune of having been to Taiwan, you wouldn’t know what I am referring to. For its small size roughly 50% bigger than Wales, Taiwan manages to cram in 286 3000m/9800ft + mountains, yet from the lowland plains, they can feel so distant and foreboding.

Would day two be better than day one? A day tainted with drab trails, drab weather but perked up by some occasionally pleasant scenery when the sun came out.

My 7:15am alarm wasn’t necessary, and I guess I was excited which is usually why I struggle to sleep well. To say I was excited may well be a slight understatement, I was going into Taiwan’s high mountains to hike. I’ve suffered recently with demotivation and over-indulging in beer, but whenever I get my hiking boots on, it seems to give me a new lease of life. Taiwan’s weather, my love of baseball and my hatred of hiking in heat has meant, walking has been limited since February.

Overnight some of my things had got a bit damp but, regardless, it was a small dampener (pardon the pun!) on what would be a wonderful morning. I checked and made my way uphill. The trudge felt longer and steeper than I remembered but the morning views were awesome.

My early check-out meant I had to skip breakfast but I got to 7 Eleven to buy some water along with some chocolate bars, I had wanted nuts but there were only flavoured nuts, not to my liking!

I had 10 minutes to spare before the bus, I had had to ask a colleague at work to phone up and get me a reservation on it. (The Nantou Bus website suggests reservations.) I was told to say my name and pay 150NT but, just got on, said: “Yi tian” which means ‘One day’ in Chinese and that was that I paid, got my one day ticket, simple!

The journey up from Cingjing to Wuling, the highest point on Taiwan’s road network was something quite special. I had got on one stop after everyone else, so was unfortunately on the left and wrong side of the bus for the views and had to stand to get photos. The higher we got, the more my breath was taken away and no I’m not talking about the altitude, the pun once again is not intended!

My intention was to do three mountains, the three “Bai Yue”, Hehuan Main Peak, Hehuan East and Mt Shimen. Not interested in backtracking 2.4km along the road from Songsyue Lodge to Hehuan Main, I decided to get off the bus at Wuling. It’s said that once you reach Wuling, you descend right away and that was absolutely true.

From the bus stop, there was a platform up a flight of stairs that gave away one of the most incredible and dramatic views I had ever seen. Both Hehuan East and Main were visible to the left and right respectively with an almighty valley ahead before the mountains continued in the distance.

Needless to say that given the perfect weather, the platform was quite crowded. I was stood at 3275m/10744ft, it took a few moments to take things in and no, I’m not talking about air!

I made my way down the road in the direction of Hehuan’s Main Peak, a mere 0.8km away and within a few minutes was at the start of the trailhead. Quickly things changed, I spotted a path off to the left. I got my phone out and realised it led to Hehuan South, which I had never read of in my research! I knew that the other three peaks were likely to take 4.5 to 5 hours to complete and with the bus back at 3:35, and it now being 9:40, I had some time to kill.

This path gradually made its way downhill with a few short uphill sections and was a pleasant dirt trail. Hehuan South doesn’t get anything like the same attention as the other 4 Hehuan’s (try Googling Hehuanshan South!) but at 3230m, was an easy 20-minute walk from the Hehuan Main Peak trail.

I made the short backtrack and continued to on my quest to do Hehuan’s Main Peak.

The path up to the main peak split, there was a dirt path up a ridge to the left whilst the main path was simply a track. Unusually, I stuck to the harder surface as I knew it was likely to take me longer. Fog began to occasionally roll in and out, which knocked the temperature down a little but the suggested one hour hike took me half an hour. It felt all too easy and the altitude was having no effect on me.

With the fog in at the summit, the views could have been better but nonetheless, I still spent about 10 minutes at the top.

On the way down, I intended to use a shortcut I had spotted earlier. The shortcut was a steep path that rejoined the main road higher up and left the Hehuan Main Peak trail about halfway down. I saw two others go down and it was steep! It was only at the bottom did I realise there was a small no entry sign, oops…well there wasn’t a sign at the top!

It took 35 minutes from the main peak to the main road, and I have to admit, I was trying my best to drag things out.

I got back to Wuling, and knew I had to do Hehuanjian too. I had easily done 7.7km in just over 2 hours and was in the mood for more.

The road down to Songsyue Lodge was quite steep and a little care had to be taken on some of the bends. Most drivers were certainly courteous and mindful of the fact it is a well-hiked area.

The next question was… Hehuan East or… no easy decision. Hehuan East was the hardest of the three remaining peaks to do, estimated to take 1 hour 45 minutes which would make it 2pm by the time I finished. It was at this time I knew the fog was likely to stick around longer and that the morning sun, was not going to be seen much thereafter.

Behind Songsyue Lodge the trail up to Hehuan East Peak began and was quite easily one of the dullest paths I’d been on. It was a 1km trail, ascending 271m up mainly wooden boardwalk steps. When the fog relented, the views down into Hualien were fantastic. A fun fact, this trail starts in Hualien County but the peak itself is in Nantou. I hadn’t known that the Hehuan area was actually a part of Taroko National Park, more commonly associated with Taroko Gorge on Taiwan’s east coast.

For the first time, perhaps altitude did affect me somewhat. It could also have been my pace, the fact I wasn’t drinking my water and the fact I do not like to stop unless I absolutely have to. Needless to say, the 65 minute suggested ascent took… 31 minutes.

At the summit, the Qilai mountains were visible to the south as well as Hehuan Main and South to the west. It was quite crowded at the top but I managed to get my selfie, and began my descent fairly quickly.

With long legs, and a good stride I made short work of the steps going back down. I just had to watch for the people who sat right in the middle of them, and those who walked two abreast on steps, two people wide! It was amazing to see how people were not carrying water or didn’t appear to be equipped in case the weather suddenly changed. I had gloves, a jumper and full waterproofs with a litre of water and felt like I over prepared.

By the time I got to the bottom, little bits of cramp in my left calf had set in. The next choice was Hehuanjian or Shimen Mountain? I had 2 hours and 15, the suggested time for both was just over an hour…

I got to the trailhead of Shimenshan at 1:25 and it was a welcome relief to find it was a more natural trail. Dirt, rock and no horrible artificial boardwalk steps in sight! This was a 750m stroll up the summit at 3237m, it was extremely hard to believe the suggested time of 20 minutes to ascend! A quick Google suggests anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, it took me 13 minutes but I certainly still enjoyed it.

The terrain was definitely to my advantage and it was easy to see why Shimenshan is the easiest of the “Bai Yue”, I couldn’t think how it could be simpler. I got my photo at the top and hopped back down in under 10 minutes. The suggested descending time was 15 minutes, again, wildly optimistic as I had overtaken people I had seen descending on my way up!

I crossed the road at the bottom of the trail and was suddenly at the exit to the Hehuanjian trail. I wondered why it said exit and about 25 minutes later, I realised why. I also began to regret my pace as I made my way up the boardwalk steps to the top. My legs were cramping badly but I was determined to get the last peak done as soon as possible.

At the top the views were better than those from Shimenshan because there was less fog and given it was the last peak, I spent a good 15 minutes resting. I could only smile, I had expected to do 3 peaks but had managed to do 5 in just over 4 hours.

Going down, I found why the boardwalk steps was the exit route… There was a scramble…a nasty scramble! I don’t mind scrambles, but downhill on 18.5km, with tired legs and sharp rocks, it wasn’t ideal but I had to laugh. The day was ending on a challenge.

2:34pm and mission complete, 5 peaks successfully ascended and descended and I had an hour to wait for the bus back. I had a wash and went into the cafe for a hot drink. It said NT$150 but the attendant said something about “Bei zi” and from what I could read on the counter, I had to take my cup back and something about NT$50.

I went outside with my mocha and could finally truly relax, but couldn’t use my phone! I only had 40% battery and had no idea when I would get it charged up. I finished up, took my cup back inside, curious to see what would happen and to my delight, got NT$100 back. So it was 50 for the drink and 100 for the cup deposit! Even if it had cost me NT$150 for the mocha, I wouldn’t have been too bothered!

Eventually, the bus turned up early at 3:15 and it was immediately stormed by OAPs which meant, first in line became last to get on! The journey back to Cingjing took about 50 minutes, and I got off at the service center, knowing the next bus to Puli was due about 10 minutes later at 4:35.

Getting back to Taichung took a lot longer than expected. The bus to Puli turned up at 4:50 and almost empty, and the weather was completely foul. An hour to Puli and a quick change on the 5:55 bus to Taichung. This was horrible, especially without being able to use either of my phones. The bus got stuck in traffic around Caotun waiting to get on highway 3, the 1hr 10 journey took about 2 hours!

So, 5 hours 20 after finishing my hike I was still hours from home. I got a ticket on the 8:30 bus to Tainan and it was at this point I realised just how badly sunburnt I was. The sun hadn’t been out too long, but I came to the conclusion, I caught it a bit on Saturday and then made it worse on Sunday. I falsely equated higher temperatures with sunburn rather than simple exposure to it, duh! It didn’t look very good at all, and 2 days later at the time of writing, I still look an absolute mess.

I finally got home in Tainan at 11:30pm, completely red in the face but I had also had a superb weekend. The hiking was fantastic, I hadn’t had issues with altitude and it had been a really healthy few days.

So scenery and sunburn, the story of the two days! Most of what I packed I didn’t need, and I ultimately left out a lot of stuff I could have really done with! You live and learn as they, and 5 years out the UK, I’m still doing that!

I will be writing a practical guide on how to do a trip like this in the coming days.

Tom

There is something quite captivating about Taiwan and its mountains, isn’t there? If you haven’t been blessed with the fortune of having been to Taiwan, you wouldn’t know what I am referring to. For its small size roughly 50% bigger than Wales, Taiwan manages to cram in 286 3000m/9800ft + mountains yet from the lowland plains, they can feel so distant and foreboding.

Roughly six weeks ago I saw a gap in my calendar, of course, there is no possible way I can have a full two days at home is there? I needed it filling and Cingjing Farm in Nantou’s Renai Township fit perfectly. The more I’ve got to know Taiwan, the more my short list of things to do has filled back up.

I booked my accommodation back in late May, as it was supposed to be in a good location and was highly rated, as well as inexpensive… NT$2000 was one of the cheaper options. My spare time between booking and going was spent researching, endlessly bits of translating between Chinese and English but it seemed Hehuanshan could be done. Hehuanshan is known to have 3 of the 5 most accessible and easiest of the “Bai Yue” (百岳) or the 100 mountains, a list of one hundred prominent 3000-metre peaks which hikers try to tick off.

I hadn’t a great week leading into Friday evening and looking at the forecast, it seemed rain would be on the agenda. My packing for this trip turned out to be completely dreadful. I packed waterproofs, hiking trousers, 2 baselayers and a sweater. I omitted my cap, walking poles and suncream, because I didn’t think I would need it in the mountains, oh how that would come back to bite…

I hadn’t been sleeping well and nodded off at 3:15am ahead of a wonderfully timed 4:15am alarm. I got up, picked up my bag and left, at 4:50am for the Ubus station in the centre of the city. I got a ticket on the 5:16am departure to Taichung and after a very slow, sleepless journey arrived 2 hours 40 later.

I walked to Nantou Bus’ Gancheng station and found things to extremely easy and organised. I asked for a “Qingjing Farm Pass” for NT$610 and that got me a return trip to Qingjing Farm and a ticket for Green Green Grasslands and a couple of other things. The return and Green Green Grasslands added up to over NT$700 and I saved a little money. I was put in a queue for the Qingjing bus and at 8:20am, I got on and was on my way to the mountains!

Beyond Puli, the scenery was pretty good and despite a slightly delayed arrival, was in a good mood if not feeling a little bit tired. I got off at Green Green Grasslands and the plan was to use the trails to make my way to my accommodation just off trail 1.

I made the slight mistake of getting off a stop short, at the south end rather than north end but it didn’t matter too much. Green Green Grasslands was surprisingly a green, grassy area with sheep and home to trail 8, “The Great Wall Trail” which gave a view looking over the entire grassland area. There was a lot of sheep, and they were super friendly. Coming from rural England, I had never managed to touch a sheep before but these ones liked human company. Two sheep were even trying to drink water from the taps, that said, I didn’t see any water source for them.

I walked around and witnessed several people chasing after sheep, and putting their children on them…? 1) There were signs saying don’t chase the sheep and 2) Who on earth tries to get their kids to ride one? Dumb behaviour aside, I had a pleasant 40 minutes before exiting and going into the “food court”, a lot of the menus were in Chinese (which I could read) but then came to a place in the centre. The menu was fully in English and for once, I quite fancied most of the menu!

I settled on mountain pig egg fried rice and a shrimp roll, simple and tasty, just what I needed! I moved on to the Guanshan pastures, home of the Guanshan trail. Calling these trails would be a stretch, most of it was just ordinary paths and nothing special. The views weren’t great either due to the fog, and I descended the 487 steps trail to the main road. So far, just an average day.

I bought a ticket for the skywalk for 50NT, which was a 50-minute round-trip. On a sunny day, this would have been stunning but it was cloudy and the only highlight was getting to watch the sheep… and that’s saying something!

I made my way down Sakura trail, to the Carton King and 7 Eleven. It was time for an Americano, and I had plenty of time to waste with it only being 2:00pm. 4 trails left and things wouldn’t really improve, it’s amazing how weather can make things so much worse than they should be. Trail 5 was a waste of time, it appeared to be just a track around a campsite and it brought me out at the Small Swiss Garden.

I quickly Googled it and baulked at the NT$150 price once I’d seen the reviews. The Sunset Trail was next, and I had to go back up the Sakura Trail and then up a hill. I got about 500m into it, and there were some greenhouses, with a dog, sat in the middle of the track, barking and growling aggressively, I backed off and backtracked completely. I got back to the main road, and completed the Tea Plantation Trail which was only 500m long, and climbed up past a small tea plantation. It brought me out on trail 1 which was actually just Rongguang Road!

I made my way up a little way, then downhill and I followed the switchbacks to a T-Junction, I went right and got to where my hotel was. I passed where I thought it was, thinking “That can’t be it” as there was no sign. I walked into the next place, and they couldn’t find a booking. It turned out, embarrassingly I’d gone into the wrong hotel and was walked down the road to yes that’s right, the place with no sign.

It was 4:40pm and I found out, there was no dinner served. I was basically stuck in a situation, where I’d have to walk 2.1km back uphill/back to get some food back at the start of trail 1. I settled in, and it was a nice room with a sofa, fridge, kettle which are pretty standard and I eventually to make my decision… walk the 2km or not? I didn’t want to, I’d walked 16km and didn’t want to tire my legs ahead of a trip to Hehuanshan but my stomach/logic said yes.

I got back to the 7 Eleven I’d been in hours before, near the Small Swiss Garden and then there was Movenpick cafe. I looked at the menu, “300NT PLUS FOR MAIN COURSES!!!” I thought given I’m used to be spending 200-300NT on food in a day usually. It was then I read the menu more closely and it turned out you could get corn soup, a drink and main course for the price started for each particular main, a set menu as it were. I went inside, and it was surprisingly quiet for 6:40pm on a Saturday evening in the height of summer.

Decisions, decisions… Lasagna? Not that in a while… Rice Gratin with Fish Fillet Thai Curry… tempting! Spaghetti with Rosemary Chicken Leg and Asparagus with cream sauce? Decision made! The spaghetti sounded too good, and as well my corn soup, ordered an iced black tea and unusually for me, a Taiwanese dessert… purple rice with red beans soup.

The meal was great, NT$349 for the set menu with the dessert being an extra NT$39. A healthy tasty three-course meal, the only weakness was the black tea tasted a little watery. On its own, I’d have happily paid NT$300 for the pasta especially in a modern looking restaurant up in the Taiwanese mountains. The meal was worth at least another NT$100 more than I paid.

I made my way back along the dark roads to the hotel which was quiet. The next hour or two was spent on my phone, the fridge didn’t work and I had issues with the kettle. I expected to get a solid night of sleep, but didn’t get to sleep until gone 1am, ahead of a 7:15am alarm! It felt like my sleeping issues were getting worse…

Stay tuned for part two of “A trip to the mountains – scenery and sunburn”

To be continued…

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.

It appears the cream has risen to the top and we are now left with two definite contenders for the 1st phase title.

Lamigo Monkeys

Oh, what can you say about this team? It’s like a well-oiled machine that now appears to be running somewhere near top speed and looks increasingly difficult to stop. Spoiler alert, making 53 hits in 3 games should scare anyone!

Both midweek games were cancelled, so it left a home series v Uni Lions from Friday to Sunday. This was a match-up between last year’s two best teams but the gap between the two has increased, as shown from this one-sided series.

Michael Nix didn’t have a great start on Friday giving up 8H, 6R in 4 but it didn’t matter. Trailing 6-5 after 4, the Monkeys came back in style, with 2 5th inning homers and a Chen Chun Chiu grand slam in the 6th. It wasn’t even close in the end, final score: Lions 8-17 Monkeys.

Radhames Liz has been inconsistent in the first phase but he had a good game on Saturday, as the Lions only managed 2H, 1R in the opening six. Leading 6-1 after 6, the Monkeys bullpen stumbled a little as the Lions pulled it back to 6-4 before 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th put the Monkeys back out of reach. Huang Tzu Peng ended the Lions charge and in the end, it was a comfortable 8-5 win for the champions.

Sunday saw the Monkeys complete a sweep of the Uni Lions, mainly thanks to 6 runs in the first inning. The closest it got was 6-2 and 8-4 as the Monkeys made 18 hits in a 12-4 win.

So, the Monkeys move to 28-22-1 with 9 to play, 5 v Fubon Guardians who are 1.5 games behind them.

Fubon Guardians

With their midweek showdown at home to Lamigo Monkeys being cancelled due to rain, all eyes were on Fubon’s series v Chinatrust Brothers.

Friday’s game was close, at least until the 7th. Luo Guo Hua conceded 3 hits, 4 runs and a walk in 0.1 innings work. Brothers moved 6-2 ahead and would never relinquish the lead taking an 8-5 victory.

In front of a bumper crowd of over 11,000, all eyes would be on the Villanueva v Loree match-up. It was scoreless after 5 and Fubon took a 3-1 lead in the 6th. Loree then gave up 2 runs, finishing with 11H, 3R over 6.2. The winning run came in the bottom of the 9th, off an error by Brothers Chen Wei Han so MvP went to Fubon’s Lin Yu Hao who struck out 4 in 1.1 innings work after Loree has squandered the lead. Final score, Brothers 3-4 Guardians.

Sunday’s game wasn’t close and that was partly down to Ryan Bollinger. In his home Fubon debut, Bollinger completed an 8H, 10 S/O shut-out. Fubon’s hitters doing what they needed to do as they scored 5 runs in a 5-0 win.

Fubon’s record is 27-24-1 with 8 to play. They are 1.5 behind the Lamigo Monkeys with 5 of their 8 remaining games against them! These will be games worth keeping an eye on.

Chinatrust Brothers

Oh how the season started so nicely, now Brothers are out the race for the first phase title with a 1-3 week.

Tuesday’s game was cancelled but Wednesday’s game against Uni Lions went ahead and it was a 5-hour thriller. Nick Additon only lasted 0.1 innings, the starter giving up 4 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks in a 29 pitch horror show. Tsai Chi Che steaded the ship a little but gave up 4 hits, 4 runs and 2 walks himself.  Brothers were down 6-0 after 3, then rallied back to make it 6-5 in the top of the 4th. 3 more Lions runs made it 9-5 and it looked as if the comeback was short-lived…

4 runs over the next 3 innings incredibly brought Brothers back to 9-9, but then the bullpen lost control in the bottom of the 8th and the Lions took a 14-9 victory.

Friday’s trip to Xinzhuang to face Fubon Guardians was Brothers one successful evening. Brothers starter Mitch Lively got the win, giving up 6H, 3R and just 1 walk. The hitters made 12 hits and scored 4 runs off Luo Guo Hua in the 7th as Brothers came away 8-5 winners.

No such luck on Saturday as a Chen Wei Han error broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 9th and gifted Fubon Guardians a  4-3 win.

Sunday Brothers had no answer for Ryan Bollinger, the new Guardians starter pitched a 115 pitch shut-out in a 5-0 win.

Hitting is a huge issue for this Brothers team, only veteran Lin Chih Sheng and youngster Chen Tzu Hao are averaging over 0.300 and most other players are struggling. The lack of first team ready Taiwanese starters is also a problem, their young starting core isn’t ready. This is a side that lacks a solid Taiwanese starter, Monkeys have Wang Yi Cheng, Lions have Pan Wei Lun, Brothers have…?

25-27-1, 5 games behind Lamigo Monkeys with 7 to play, the phase is pretty much done for the Taichung side.

Uni Lions

A season of promise, a season of hope but one that now relies heavily on a strong second half of the season. Injuries and out of form players have ravaged this team. A lot of average players with little to choose between them. This is a side playing with one foreign pitcher as Austin Bibens Dirkx has finally been released but his signing was a major question mark right from Spring Training.

Uni Lions went 1-3 just like Chinatrust Brothers and the gap between the Monkeys and Lions now resembles a chasm rather than the short leap that it once appeared to be.

Wednesday was the only highlight of the week, taking advantage of poor Brothers pitching to go 6-0 ahead, only be pegged back to 6-5, then push it to 9-5, only for Brothers to tie it up at 9-9. Would the Lions fold? No. Brothers chose to instead, and the Lions made 5 runs in the 8th to seal a 14-9 victory.

The weekend was painful with three defeats, 8-17, 5-8 and 4-12 at the hands of a Lamigo side containing 8 players who should be all-stars. When Kuo Yun Wen starts at 8, you are facing a loaded team. When Pan Wu Hsiang is the only Lion averaging over 0.300, compared to 8 Monkeys, you can see where there is a gap.

25-30-1 with 4 to play of the first phase. It has been painful for Lions. It’s time to move on and look ahead to July.

This week’s fixtures

Uni Lions v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Tuesday at 6:35pm.

Chinatrust Brothers v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Wednesday at 6:35pm

Chinatrust Brothers v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Thursday at 6:35pm

Fubon Guardians v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Friday at 6:35pm.

Chinatrust Brothers v Uni Lions @ Tainan on Saturday at 5:05pm

Fubon Guardians v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Saturday at 5:05pm.

Fubon Guardians v Chinatrust Brothers @ Taichung on Sunday at 5:05pm

 

We are no closer to discovering who will win the first phase of the CPBL as we move into the middle of June.

Fubon Guardians

The post-Sosa era is off to a positive start after a 3-2 week. The midweek series v Brothers was split. Bryan Woodall picked up his 8th loss of the season in a 5-3 defeat on Wednesday. All change on Thursday despite Mike Loree giving up 8H, 3ER as Fubon edged past the Taichung side 7-4 on Thursday.

The weekend series was another road trip, this time to Tainan to take on Uni Lions. Chen Shih Peng had another solid outing on Friday, giving away just 4H, 1R as Fubon eased to a 7-1 win. The result never looked in doubt as Fubon managed 14 hits and were dominant with the bat.

Saturday saw Ryan Bollinger make his debut but despite a solid start, he started to come apart in the 3rd conceding 4H, 6R, 5BBs and would take the loss in a 9-2 defeat. On Sunday, another Guardian made his debut; You Ting Wai and he outdid Lions veteran Pan Wei Lun. He gave 4H, 1R over 5 innings, getting the win in an 8-4 victory. 14 hits again and Fubon moves to within 0.5 of Lamigo Monkeys.

Fubon are 25-23-1 with 11 games to play, 7 of those at home.

Lamigo Monkeys

Are the champions going to win their 5th phase in a row? Well, it’s still up in the air after going 2-2.

Michael Nix had another fantastic game, giving up just 2 hits in Lamigo’s 8-0 thrashing of Uni Lions on Wednesday.  Radhames Liz also had a good game, this time on Friday away at Brothers. He conceded 9 hits but only 1 run as Lamigo scored regularly in a 7-2 win.

The weekend in Taichung looked to be off to a winning start, as Lamigo led 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th. Huang Zi Peng then gave up a home run as Brothers tied it at 6-6. In the 10th Wang Cheng Che gave up a hit and Wang Yue Lin conceded a walk-off home run as Brothers won 8-6. On Sunday, it was another heartbreaking walk-off defeat in Taichung as Lai Zhe Yuan took the loss this time and the score was 7-6 Brothers.

Lamigo are 25-22-1 with 12 to play, with 5 games against rivals Fubon Guardians to come.

Chinatrust Brothers

Brothers just about kept themselves in contention with a 3-2 week but could have done with another win. The midweek series against Fubon was split, Nick Additon giving up 6H, 2ER in a 5-3 win on Wednesday. They then ran into Mike Loree on Thursday evening which was always going to a tough game and so it proved as Fubon ran out 7-4 winners.

You have to feel for Mitch Lively whose been pitching solidly, with an ERA of 3.11 but is now 2-6 for the season. He gave up 8H, 4R which aren’t bad figures but Lamigo Monkeys were 7-2 winners on Friday evening.

Brothers young Taiwanese starters continue to have their issues, Huang En Tzu giving up 9H, 4R but it wouldn’t matter. Lin Chih Sheng hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the 9th before Chan Tzu Hsien won the game 8-6 with a homer of his own in the bottom of the 10th, final score: Monkeys 6-8 Brothers.

The release of Alex Liddi meant Elih Villanueva was called up from the 2nd team to make his second Brothers debut on Sunday. His figures weren’t great, 11H, 6R but it didn’t matter as yet again, Brothers walked off. Chiang Chih Hao got the winning hit in the bottom of the 9th, final score: Monkeys 6-7 Brothers.

Brothers are 24-26-1, 2.5 behind Lamigo Monkeys but 7 of their 9 remaining games are on the road.

Uni Lions

In a half season dominated by injuries and poor form, it was another week to forget for the Lions who look out of the race for the first phase title.

Tuesday’s home game v Lamigo Monkeys was called off and Wednesday’s game that went ahead was forgettable. Ryan Verdugo conceded 8H, 3ER in an 8-0 loss in a game the Lions only made 4 hits in.

Friday was no better at home to Fubon Guardians. Shih Tzu Chien was once again inconsistent on the mound, giving up 9H, 5R in a 3.1 on the mound. The Lions struggled with the bat making just 5 hits and lost 7-1.

Saturday was the bright spot on the week, taking advantage of Ryan Bollinger’s debut and a good display by Jiang Chen Yen. Despite the 9-2 victory, the Lions only made 8 hits with Chen Chong Yu getting 3 of them. The week ended with another poor home display, there were issues with the bat and with the ball. There were 11 strikeouts, 2 errors and just 7 hits against a rookie Guardians starter. Final score, Guardians 7-4 Lions.

Uni Lions are now 24-27-1, 3 behind Lamigo Monkeys with 8 to play, 4 at home and 4 away.

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This week’s fixtures

Chinatrust Brothers v Uni Lions @ Tainan on Wednesday at 6:35pm

Lamigo Monkeys v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Wed/Thurs at 6:35pm

Uni Lions v Lamigo Monkeys @ Taoyuan on Fri at 6:35, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm

Chinatrust Brothers v Fubon Guardians @ Xinzhuang on Fri at 6:35, Sat/Sun at 5:05pm.

All games subject to weather, Tuesday’s clash between Brothers and Uni Lions was cancelled before I wrote this due to heavy rain.