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10/16/2003 Archived Entry: "Taiwan Baseball News: Bulls' Ninth-Inning Rally Falls One Run Short in Game 4"
Taiwan Baseball News: Bulls' Ninth-Inning Rally Falls One Run Short in Game 4 as the Elephants Take a 3-1 Edge in the Series
By Paul Huang
Peng Cheng-mingˇ¦s final grab of the lazy fly by Huang Chung-yi in the bottom of the ninth ended the Sinon Bullsˇ¦ two-run surge to gave the Brother Elephants an emotional win by a final score of 5-4 in Game 4 of the 2003 Taiwan Series.
The stage seemed set for the most dramatic come-from-behind victory in the history of the CPBL when the home Bulls blasted two back-to-back homers in the bottom of the ninth to pull within a run of the defending champs, after having been shutout in the seven previous innings to trail the defending champs 0-5. The late-game surge by the Bulls would fall one-run short as the Elephants put themselves on the verge of winning their fourth straight championship trophy.
The game began with the Elephants taking a 2-0 second-inning lead on catcher Chen Rei-changˇ¦s two-run single to shallow left off Bull starter Yang Chien-fu . Then came the Elephant center fielder Chen Chih-yuan's RBI double in the top of the third that ended Yang's night. The play was scored a double by the game official, even though Bull center fielder Tseng Hua-wei could have made a nice play to come up with the ball.
ˇ§I should've made that play; there is no doubt in my mind.ˇ¨ Tseng was quoted by several local Chinese language newspapers regarding his costly miscue. He had just returned from a mandatory one-day military service call that scratched him from the starting lineup. The game had already started when he arrived at the ballpark from the service call. ˇ§I didnˇ¦t have much time to warm up for the game at all when I got into the game because of it. (military service duty)ˇ¨
Elephant starter Jonathan Hurst of the U.S. managed to held the anxious Bull lineup to no runs on five hits throughout the first seven, thanks to two key double plays turned by his infield mates in the second and fourth to keep the shutout intact through the seventh. Hurstˇ¦s luck would change in the bottom of the eighth as three straight hits by the Bulls scored their first run of the game. The 36-year-old veteran ended up yielding another run in escaping the inning with his team still up 5-2.
ˇ§He (Elephant shortstop Chen Rei-cheng) is the man,ˇ¨ Hurst hugged Chen Rei-cheng with joy in the postgame interview, ˇ§he has been there for me all season long.ˇ¨ Chen initiated both double plays that saved Hurst a least a couple runs earlier in the game and took away an apparent base hit by Bull shortstop Cheng Jau-han in the bottom of the sixth that would have scored another run, but instead became the third out of the inning.
The victory by the Elephants upheld the ˇ§presidential curseˇ¨ in that the home team has not won in any of the five CPBL contests attended by the Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian this year. It may be coincidental, but only a ˇ§curseˇ¨ could be powerful enough to stop the unbelievable momentum that almost ruined the party for the Elephants in the bottom of the ninth.
