Bullpen Bends, Doesn’t Break in 3–2 Rakuten Monkeys Victory

Chen Chun-Hsiu was the hero with four hits for Rakuten

It wasn’t the most welcoming start to Ryan Carpenter’s CPBL career the first time around, but the second time was the charm for him in the Rakuten Monkeys’ 3–2 win over the CTBC Brothers.

Rakuten Monkeys 3, CTBC Brothers 2 (10)
W: Wang Yao-Lin (1–0)
L: Wu Chun-Wei (0–1)

Carpenter threw 92 pitches, allowing only five hits over his 6.2 scoreless innings of work.

The Monkeys’ typically potent offense was calmer today, giving him just two runs of support before he left the mound with the bases loaded.

Rakuten reliever Huang Tzu-Peng was less successful on the mound— although he pitched out of the bases-loaded jam, he gave up a hit and walked one in the following inning, allowing the Brothers to tie the game.

The game remained tied into the tenth inning, when Chen Chun-Hsiu smacked his fourth hit of the game — an RBI double off of Wu Chun-Wei to score Lin Li and break the tie in what turned out to be the winning run.

Despite the loss, the pitching was solid for the Brothers as well. Liao Yi-Chung struck out seven in his seven innings pitched, giving up only the two runs.

With the win, the Monkeys improved to 6–0 in the young season. The Brothers dropped to 2–5.

The two teams will face off again tomorrow at 6:35 AM Eastern Time for game two of their two game series. The game will be available to stream here without English commentary.*

The commentary for Friday’s Rakuten Monkeys/Uni Lions game will be available with English commentary.

Full Box Score, via CPBL
Highlights, via CPBL
CTBC Brothers Roster, via CPBL Stats
Rakuten Monkeys Roster, via CPBL Stats