BASEBALL/Brothers one win from CPBL title after edging Lions in Tainan

Tainan, Oct. 23 (CNA) The CTBC Brothers are now one victory away from the franchise's 10th overall championship in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) after narrowly edging the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 6-4 on the latter's home turf at Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium, to lead the series 3-1.

According to CPBL records teams that took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven CPBL championship series, won the title 81.25 percent of the time.

At the post-game presser, Brothers manager Keiichi Hirano said he predicted the game could be neck-and-neck but was confident his team would triumph.

Meanwhile, Uni-Lions manager Lin Yueh-ping (林岳平) said his team had an early lead but could not deliver when the bases were loaded with two untimely double plays.

"With our backs against the wall, all we can do is hope to launch a comeback in the remainder of the series," Lin added.

The Uni-Lions had 13 hits, two more than the CTBC Brothers.

With a total of 10 championships, the Lions have the most in the CPBL's 35-year history. The CTBC Brothers have 9.

The visitors drew first blood with four hits in the opening frame, including a double by first baseman Chen Chun-hsiu (陳俊秀), to give them an early 2-nothing lead.

In the bottom of the opening frame, the home squad rallied with a three-run first inning on five hits, including three consecutive RBI-singles, to take a 3-2 lead.

The Brothers managed to tie the game at 3 apiece in the top of the fourth before designated hitter Chen Tzu-hao (陳子豪) hit a solo homerun to give his team a one-run lead in the top of five from the Lions' left-handed reliever Lin Chao-en (林詔恩).

Yueh Cheng-Hua's (岳政華) 2 RBI single in the top of the sixth against fireballer reliever Hector Perez from the Dominican Republic extended the Brothers' lead to 6-3.

The Lions launched a comeback in the bottom of the sixth with one run to close the gap to 6-4.

The best chance the home team had was in the bottom of the seventh when it managed to put runners in first and third with no out. But an outfield flyball and a double play left the potential tying run stranded and the Lions had no more chances.

Shaking off a rocky first inning in which he gave up three runs, Brothers starter Cheng Kai-wen (鄭凱文) regained his poise and pitched four scoreless innings until he was relieved in the bottom of the sixth after giving up another run.

He had a solid 89-pitch outing with two strikeouts and no walk, giving up four runs, three of them earned, on 10 hits.

Chen who hit the go-ahead homer in the fifth was named MVP of the game.

Game 5 of the Taiwan Series will be held on Friday at CTBC Brothers home stadium Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.