The MLB team piled up early runs and did not relinquish the lead through to the end, as they coasted to a 6-2 victory in Game 3 of this series.
It was the 3rd win in a row for the visiting Major Leaguers, with big slugger Michael Morse of the Washington Nationals in a firepower display at the Taichung Intercontinental Stadium yesterday (Friday, Nov. 4).
Morse, a teammate of Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-Ming at the Nationals, had a double and a solo homer in the game to account for two RBIs.
Robinson Cano, another friend of local hero Wang (teammate at the New York Yankees), had two hits and scored two runs for the visitors.
The MLB All-Stars gave Taiwanese starter Cheng Kai-Wen (with Japan’s Hanshin Tigers organization) a rude awakening with three hits and jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the opening frame.
In the subsequent two innings, the Major Leaguers scored one run each, including the big solo blast by Morse over the wall to dead-straight center.
Team Taiwan replied with one run of their own against Felipe Paulino (Kansas City Royals) in the 2nd frame, and it was 4-1 after completion of 3rd inning.
The visitors then rattled Taiwan’s second pitcher, lefty Chen Kuan-Yu, to add two more runs in the 5th frame for the 6-1 lead at that point.
Taiwanese hitters mounted a late rally, when replacement catcher Wang Chun-Chieh ripped a double to drive in a run in the 8th inning for the 6-2 scoreline.
The host team tried to make a comeback, and had runners in scoring position in each of the final 3 innings, as the vocal supporting fans cheered them on to get some runs.
However, the Taiwanese batters could not make the breakthrough. and stranded a total of 5 runners in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings.
Colin Balester (Washington Nationals), MLB’s second pitcher, came in for the 5th and 6th frames to record the win for the visitors.
Starter for Taiwan, Cheng Kai-Wen, took the loss as he struck out 7 in an impressive pitching display, but also gave up 7 hits and was tagged for 4 runs in 4 innings of work.
Relievers Jose Veras (Pittsburgh Pirates), Phil Coke (Detroit Tigers), and Mark Melancon (Houston Astros) also saw action in his game to limit the home side’s offense rest of the way.
In the post-game interview, Team Taiwan manager Chen Wei-Chen said, “Our players gave their best effort, but it was not enough. Again we had our chances, but did not capitalize on them… It’s too bad that we suffered three losses, but our goal remain the same. We will do the best and aim to win the upcoming two games in this series.”
MLB team manager Bruce Bochy said, “We played well, Pauli (starting pitcher Felipe Paulino) did a great job. It’s always nice to get that run support (early in the game). Morse had a big day with a homer and a double.”
About Team Taiwan’s performance, Bochy remarked, “I thought they really battled back against us very well. They showed a lot of heart tonight. I tip my cap to how hard they were fighting to get back into the game.”
Games 4 and 5 are scheduled this weekend (Sat. Nov. 5 and Sun, Nov. 6) with starting time in the afternoon (2:00 p.m.) at the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung, at the Cheng Ching Lake Stadium.
After the final contest of the series in the weekend, the MLB All-Stars will depart Taiwan for returning to U.S. on Sunday evening.
