BASEBALL/Monkeys take 2-0 lead in Taiwan Series with victory over Brothers

Taipei. Oct. 19 (CNA) The Rakuten Monkeys downed the CTBC Brothers 2-1 on Sunday, handing the home team their second consecutive loss in the best-of-seven Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Taiwan Series at the Taipei Dome.

Monkeys' ace starter Pedro Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dominated on the mound Sunday, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning.

He gave up only three hits and walked two batters in a 93-pitch outing, giving his Taoyuan-based team an edge.

Offensively, Monkeys' leadoff batter Lin Li (林立) hit Brothers' starter Brandon Leibrandt's pitch over the center-field wall in the game's first at-bat, giving the Monkeys an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame.

Lin's solo shot was only the second leadoff home run in the 30-plus years since the CPBL's Taiwan Series was launched.

The Monkeys added another run in the top of the seventh inning, which was enough for the team to clinch the crucial game 2-1.

The Brothers had several chances to tie or even come from behind in the bottom of the eighth and the ninth, with no one out and runners in scoring position.

But Monkeys' relievers Chen Kuan-yu (陳冠宇) and closer Chu Cheng-yang (朱承洋) managed to keep the Brothers scoreless on both occasions with timely groundouts and double plays.

In the history of the Taiwan Series, 16 of the 18 teams that won the first two games in the best-of-seven series went on to take the championship title.

The Monkeys and the Brothers have a day off on Monday before facing off again Tuesday at the Taipei Dome for Game 3 of the Taiwan Series.