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CPBL Update, June 28 to July 04: Sababoy wuz robbed!

We check in on our adopted CPBL team, the Uni-President Lions.

By Steve Sypa
Rakuten Monkeys v Uni-Lions - CPBL
Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium
Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images

As regular From Complex to Queens listeners know, we’ve decided to start following a CPBL team in the absence of Mets baseball for the foreseeable future. We picked a team and will post updates on how they’re doing over in Taiwan. Why the Uni-President Lions?

  • Tainan City, home of the Lions, is one of the oldest and largest cities in Taiwan
  • Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium is directly under the flight path of airplanes flying in and out of the nearby Tainan Airport.
  • The team has talent and looks good on paper but has been thwarted time and time again in the last few years by poor on-the-field field management and front office executive decisions.
  • Employed in their organization at one time or another former player and SNY analyst Nelson Figueroa, Columbia Fireflies pitching coach Jerome Williams, former manager Mickey Callaway, and Generation K member Bill Pulsipher.

Sounds like the Mets to me!

STANDINGS

June 28 (22-28)

Uni-President Lions 10, Rakuten Monkeys 2 (BOX)

Monkeys starter Yi-Cheng Wang is a left-hander that wears 32, but Sandy Koufax he was not, allowing seven runs over three-plus innings. Of those seven, only three were earned, but at the same time, three runs over three-plus innings ain’t the great shakes, either. Shortstop Tzu-Chieh Lin clubbed a long ball, but the Lions otherwise relied on a barrage of hits to win this one, notching 13 in total. Logan Darnell probably could’ve been his normal self- he’s averaged almost an earned run per inning this season- and the Lions would’ve still been able to get the win, but the southpaw stepped up, pitching one of- if not the best- games of his career in Taiwan thus far.

  • CF Chieh-Hsien Chen (#24): 2-4, 3 R, BB, K
  • PH-CF Chao-Ting Tang (#6): 0-1, K
  • DH Chieh-Jui Wu (#62): 1-3, 2 R, RBI
  • PH-DH Wu-Hsiung Pan (#55): 1-2, RBI
  • LF Chih-Chieh Su (#32): 0-4, R, RBI, K
  • RF An-Ko Lin (#77): 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, SB (3)
  • RF Liang-Wei Chiang (#27): 0-0
  • 3B Yung-Chi Chen (#13): 3-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 K
  • 2B Ching-Kai Lin (#64): 0-0
  • 2B-3B Chung-Ting Chen (#66): 1-5, K, E
  • 1B Kuo-Ching Kao (#68): 2-4, 2 RBI
  • PH-1B Chieh-Kai Pan (#35): 0-1, K
  • SS Tzu-Chieh Lin (#39): 2-5, R, HR (6), RBI, K
  • C Yu-Le Lin (#31): 0-4, BB, 3 K
  • LHP Logan Darnell (#75): 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, HR, W (2-1)
  • RHP Wei-Chih Lin (#43): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
  • RHP Chun-Jen Cheng (#60): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
  • RHP Chun-Yen Huang (#40): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

June 29 (22-28)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

June 30 (22-28)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

July 01 (23-28)

Uni-President Lions 7, Fubon Guardians 2 (BOX)

After a brief call-up last September, high-touted 2018 draftee Ruei-Yang Gu-Lin made his 2020 debut, throwing a solid five innings. The offense powered him to a win, getting on the board in the second and never looking back. Of note, An-Ko Lin’s hit in the seventh was his 100th of his career.

  • CF Chieh-Hsien Chen (#24): 0-4
  • LF Chih-Chieh Su (#32): 0-3, BB, 2 K
  • RF An-Ko Lin (#77): 2-4, R, HR (18), RBI
  • 1B Chieh-Jui Wu (#62): 3-4, 3 R, 2 SB (4, 5)
  • 1B Kuo-Ching Kao (#68): 0-0
  • 3B Yung-Chi Chen (#13): 1-4, R, HR (8), 2 RBI, 2 K
  • 2B Ching-Kai Lin (#64): 0-0
  • DH Wu-Hsiung Pan (#55): 2-3, 2 R, HR (4), RBI, BB, SB (1)
  • SS Tzu-Chieh Lin (#39): 0-4, K
  • 2B-3B Chung-Ting Chen (#66): 1-3, 2 RBI,
  • C Yu-Le Lin (#31): 0-3, K
  • RHP Ruei-Yang Gu-Lin (#19): 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (1-0)
  • RHP Yu-Kang Fu (#42): 2.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
  • RHP Chun-Jen Cheng (#60): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
  • RHP Wei-Chih Lin (#43): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

July 02 (23-29)

Fubon Guardians 4, Uni-President Lions 3 (BOX)

Southpaw Chen-Yen Chiang pitched well enough, allowing two earned runs and two unearned runs, but with the exception of the top of the lineup, the offense was a little sluggish. The first four batters combined to go 7-16 with a homer and two walks, while the rest of the lineup went 4-19. The Lions were pretty hot coming into the series and the Guardians were on a five game skid, so it’s too bad they weren’t able to keep both trends going.

  • CF Chieh-Hsien Chen (#24): 2-5, R
  • LF Chih-Chieh Su (#32): 1-4, R, BB, K, E
  • RF An-Ko Lin (#77): 2-3, R, HR (19), RBI, BB, K
  • 1B Chieh-Jui Wu (#62): 2-4, 2 RBI
  • 3B Yung-Chi Chen (#13): 0-4, E
  • DH Wu-Hsiung Pan (#55): 2-3, K
  • PH Kuo-Ching Kao (#68): 1-1
  • PR-DH Liang-Wei Chiang (#27): 0-0
  • 2B-SS Chung-Ting Chen (#66): 0-3, K
  • SS Tzu-Chieh Lin (#39): 0-2
  • PH-2B Ching-Kai Lin (#64): 0-2
  • C Chung-Yu Chen (#65): 1-4, K
  • LHP Chen-Yen Chiang (#16): 5.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, L (4-5)
  • RHP Cheng-Feng Chiang (#95): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
  • RHP Chun-Yen Huang (#40): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
  • RHP Yun-Wen Chen (#12): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

July 03 (23-30)

CTBC Brothers 9, Uni-President Lions 3 (BOX)

Starter Tzu-Chien Shih had problems with the long ball. When you give up three in three innings, well, that’s not good. The first place Brothers, who have won seven of their last ten games, ran roughshod over the last-place-once-again Lions. On the pitching side of things, Mitch Lively threw a solid game, and on the hitting side, six of their starting nine had multihit games. The Lions had plenty of chances to score, loading the bases multiple times, but as the score indicates, they were not particularly successful. Not what you want to see.

  • DH Chieh-Jui Wu (#62): 1-4, R, HR (1), 2 RBI, K
  • SS En-Tzu Huang (#7): 0-3
  • PH Wu-Hsiung Pan (#55): 0-0, RBI, BB
  • SS Tzu-Chieh Lin (#39): 0-1
  • LF Chih-Chieh Su (#32): 1-5, 3 K
  • RF An-Ko Lin (#77): 1-4, BB, K
  • 1B Kuo-Ching Kao (#68): 3-4
  • 3B Chieh-Kai Pan (#35): 0-3, BB
  • 2B Chung-Ting Chen (#66): 2-3, R, BB, K
  • C Chung-Yu Chen (#65): 1-2, R. BB, K, SB (9)
  • C Yu-Le Lin (#31): 0-0
  • CF Chao-Ting Tang (#6): 1-4, 2 K
  • RHP Tzu-Chien Shih (#45): 3.1 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 HR, L (5-4)
  • RHP Wei-Chih Lin (#43): 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
  • RHP Yu-Kang Fu (#42): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
  • RHP Chun-Jen Cheng (#60): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

July 04 (23-31)

CTBC Brothers 7, Uni-President Lions 2 (BOX)

Josh Roenicke did a slightly better job than Tzu-Chien Shih, but at this point, the Brothers are an unstoppable juggernaut. Brothers starter En-Sih Huang won his sixth game of the season, keeping his record perfect, and lowered his ERA to 3.52, lowest in the league among qualified pitchers. While the Lions got another notch in the loss column, the day wasn’t all bad. As part of the CPBL “America Day” festivities, there was a mascot race, and Lion, the representative of the Uni-Lions won! This writer thinks that the fix was in and that Sababoy was sabotaged from the beginning, but that is up to you to decide.

  • DH Chieh-Jui Wu (#62): 1-4, R, K
  • LF Chih-Chieh Su (#32): 1-3, BB, 2 K
  • RF An-Ko Lin (#77): 0-4, 2 K
  • 3B Yung-Chi Chen (#13): 1-3, RBI, BB, E (1)
  • 1B Kuo-Ching Kao (#68): 0-4, K
  • 2B Chung-Ting Chen (#66): 1-3, R, BB, K
  • SS En-Tzu Huang (#7): 1-3, 2 K, E (2)
  • PH-SS Tzu-Chieh Lin (#39): 0-1
  • C Yu-Le Lin (#31): 2-3, RBI, K
  • PH Kai-Wen Cheng (#28): 0-1, K
  • CF Chao-Ting Tang (#6): 1-3
  • PH Wu-Hsiung Pan (#55): 0-1
  • RHP Josh Roenicke (#30): 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, L (2-4)
  • RHP Cheng-Feng Chiang (#95): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
  • RHP Chun-Yen Huang (#40): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
  • RHP Chi-Wei Lin (#50): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

HITTER OF THE WEEK

An-Ko Lin

6-17, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 1/1 SB

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Logan Darnell

6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, HR

HITTER OF THE WEEK

May 3 to May 9: Fu-Lin Kuo (10-22, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1/1 SB)

May 10 to May 16: An-Ko Lin (9-23, 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 0/0 SB)

May 17 to May 23: Chih-Chieh Su (3-6, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1/1 SB)

May 24 to May 30: Chieh-Hsien Chen (10-17, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 0/0 SB)

May 31 to June 6: Chih-Chieh Su (11-18, 0 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 0/0 SB)

June 7 to June 13: Yung-Chi Chen (11-20, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 1/1 SB)

June 14 to June 20: Chih-Chieh Su (10-17, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 0/0 SB)

June 21 to June 27: An-Ko Lin (12-21, 3 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K, 0/0 SB)

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

May 3 to May 9: Ryan Feierabend (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR)

May 10 to May 16: Ryan Feierabend: (6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K)

May 17 to May 23: Wei-Chih Lin (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

May 24 to May 30: Ryan Fierabend (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)

May 31 to June 6: Chen-Yen Chiang (7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR)

June 7 to June 13: Josh Roenicke (7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)

June 14 to June 20: Josh Roenicke (7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)

June 21 to June 27: Logan Darnell (7.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, HR)

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