Welcome to the first edition of my 2020 CPBL weekly round-ups. We have finally started after two Coronavirus delays. The season was postponed from Saturday 14th March to Saturday 28th March, then moved back again to this last weekend and even that was not without its own issues.

New readers will be asking, how do the round-ups work? I review the previous week’s games and give you the fixtures for the following weekend. I have typically posted the round-ups on Mondays/Tuesdays. Note due to lack of games, my report below is an extended version of what I’d do usually.

A review of last week’s action

Chinatrust Brothers v Rakuten Monkeys on Saturday in Taoyuan was postponed due to rain

Fubon Guardians v Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday was also postponed due to rain.

We did get a game and it was in Taichung where Uni Lions faced Chinatrust Brothers. Uni Lions had won their last 4 opening games and with almost no other baseball taking place anywhere in the world, more eyes than usual were on this one.

It was a battle of two imported players Ryan Feierabend v Ariel Miranda and both players had very reasonable starts to the CPBL careers despite a few glitches. Lions loaded the bases off Miranda on two outs in the 1st before Lions vet Kao Kuo Ching struck out. Brothers made just a hit so scoreless after 1.

Lions took a 2nd inning lead through Cheng Kai-Wen’s lead off home run and then had two with 1 out but Miranda saw out the inning without surrendering anymore runs. More pressure was applied in the Lions 3rd with two on once again as Miranda reached 79 pitches but again, no more runs. Feierabend then started to wobble a little and Chan Tzu Hsien levelled the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th. Neither starter gave anything else up but momentum looked with Brothers as bullpens entered the game in the 6th with the score tied at 1-1.

To those well versed in the CPBL an away team collapse always felt just around the corner and pressure and stress was amplified in later innings. Both teams put two on base in the 7th but third outs followed swiftly in both cases. As Brothers relievers were striking out Lions hitters, Lions relievers walked 6 up into the bottom of the 9th. Two walks had left Brothers in a superb position with no outs. Chen Tzu-Hao ground out but the Lions intentionally walked Chiang Chih-Hao. Any hit and the game was up! Strike out by Zheng Jun-Ren and usual closer Chen Yun-Wen got a ground out after first, off to 10 innings!

No drama in the 10th and Brothers once again put themselves in a good position. Wang Wei-Chen got on base then stole 2nd, he advanced to third after a wild pitch. Chan Tzu-Hsien then walked and Pan Chih-Feng intentionally walked, it felt like deja-vu! A strike out followed before Chen Tzu-Hao was caught in left field, twice Brothers had loaded the bases with 1 out, twice they’d failed to win the game. Would this come back to haunt them? Yes.

Cheng Kai-Wen and Tang Chao-Ting made hits to put 2 on with 1 out. Chen Chieh-Hsien smashed a double to the wall and Lions led 2-1 with 1 out, runners on 2 and 3. Pinch hitter Kuo Fu-Lin repeated the trick with a bases clearing double and it was 4-1. Brothers got the two outs required without conceding further but even against Lin Hang a man without a career save and just 10 first team appearances it would be a struggle. There were no miracles as Lin gave away just a hit and Uni Lions had won the season opener 4-1.

This week’s schedule

Fubon Guardians v Chinatrust Brothers on Tues/Wed in Taichung at 6:35pm Taiwan time.

Uni Lions v Rakuten Monkeys on Wed/Thurs in Taoyuan at 6:35pm Taiwan time.

Fubon Guardians v Rakuten Monkeys on Fri at 6:35, Sat/Sun at 5:05 in Taoyuan.

Uni Lions v Chinatrust Brothers on Fri at 6:35, Sat/Sun at 5:05 in Taichung.

Enjoy the games!

Tom.