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10/12/2003 Archived Entry: "Taiwan Baseball News: Elephants Take Game 1 in Grand Fashion"
Elephants Take Game 1 in Grand Fashion
By Paul Huang
For the 20,000-plus screaming fans, some of whom had to wait in line overnight for tickets, Game 1 starter for the Brother Elephants, Nakagomi Sin・s stellar performance in this year・s annual Fall Classic was worth every effort. Sin・s near-perfect outing in the Elephants・ 2-0 victory over the Sinon Bulls was a mere extension of his current six-game winning streak. The Japanese veteran was just one infield single shy from nohitting the Sinon Bulls in eight masterful innings for his second career postseason triumph with the CPBL.
The highly anticipated showdown between the Elephants and the Bulls lived up to its billing as both starters were able to prevent the opposing lineup from busting the game wide open; though in different ways. While Nakagomi did it with his one-hit shutout effort, Bull starter Jeff Andra of the United States had to rely on many outstanding defensive plays by his teammates to keep the seven hits that he yielded from scoring more than a run.
Failing to bring home the runner from scoring position in the first and third, the Elephant offense finally struck in the bottom of the fourth with shortstop Chen Rei-cheng・s single up the middle to knock home his older brother, Elephant catcher Chen Rei-chang from second to give his team an 1-0 lead. Chen Rei-chang had belted a two-out double off Andra to reach second on the previous play.
Stepping in for Andra in the middle of the fifth, reliever Yu Wen-pin managed to keep the game close for the Bulls by allowing an unearned run on three hits over three solid innings of play. The unearned run against Yu came in the bottom of the eighth after shortstop Cheng Jau-han mishandled the sharp grounder by Chen Rei-cheng in the interest of turning a potential inning-ending double play.
The baseball gods were definitely on the Elephants・ side in Game 1 because on several occasions, the Bulls were able to make good contact with Sin・s pitches without having any hits to show for it. Some excellent defensive plays by Elephant out fielders Peng Cheng-ming and Chen Chih-yuan, coupled with a few poorly placed hits led to the Bulls・ record-low one-hit postseason performance.
：We really had our chances at the plate as a few of our players had good wood on the ball,； Bull manager Chen Wei-cheng said in the postgame press conference. ：Our hits were either taken away by a great defensive play or the ball was hit right at a defender.；
Taking no chances with the 2-0 lead that Sin had been spotted, Elephant skipper Lin Yi-tseng sent American hurler Jonathan Hurst to the mound to begin the ninth. Normally a starter in his own right, Hurst got the last three outs to preserve the 2-0 shutout victory.
Offensively for the Elephants, the lineup was able to solve Andra early in the game. Peng Cheng-ming and Chen Chih-yuan were both able to extend their postseason hitting streaks to eleven and six respectively to amass a total of ten hits against the Bulls overall. However, the Elephants・ inability to come up with crucial hits, most evident in first baseman Tsai Fong-an・s 0-for-3 performance with runner in scoring position, turned what would have been a blowout to the 2-0 win.
：I am glad we got this one, because teams that missed as many chances as we did in a championship situation usually don・t end up winning the game.； Lin Yi-tseng showed some concerns with his team・s apparent shortcoming.
With regular-season victory champ Yokota Hisanori scheduled to pitch Game 2 for the Elephants on Sunday, the Bulls have less than a day to get its offense in gear. A 0-2 deficit against the streaky defending champ going into Game 3 in Taichung on Tuesday may prove to be impossible to overcome.
