Uni-Lions Beat Former Teammate Felix Pena; Manager Lin Yueh-Ping Says He's Not in Best Form

(Central News Agency reporter Hsieh Ching-wen, Taipei, June 2) The CPBL Uni-President 7-ELEVEn Lions faced the CTBC Brothers today. The Brothers started former Lions pitcher Felix Pena against his old team. The Lions broke through Pena's pitching in the 5th inning, taking the lead on a three-run home run by Chiu Chih-cheng. In the 6th inning, they added runs via a walk and consecutive hits by Chen Sheng-ping and Chen Chung-yu, forcing Pena out of the game before completing 6 innings.

The Lions won 7-3. Combined with the Wei Chuan Dragons' 3-0 victory over the Rakuten Monkeys in another game, the Brothers' elimination number dropped to zero, ending their chances for the first-half championship.

Lions manager Lin Yueh-ping said that against Pena, Lions hitters had good contact early in the game but hit the ball directly at fielders. He called Chiu's hit crucial and noted the team had many good offensive sequences today.

Regarding Pena's pitching, Lin said he didn't know how to comment but mentioned that Pena had shown similar pitching form during his time with the Lions. "Everyone might have noticed that Pena's fastball velocity is not at its best. I don't know if there's a difference in his preparation, but this situation has happened before," Lin said.

Lions starter Kuo Chun-lin pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 strikeout, 4 walks, and 1 earned run, earning his 3rd win of the season. However, Lin was not satisfied with Kuo's performance, calling it "not ideal." "He issued walks in almost every inning, 4 walks in 5 innings. Many came with two outs, which was unnecessary. This needs to be reduced. Although the result was a win with 1 run over 5 innings, the content was not good," Lin said. (Editor: Chen Jen-hua) 1150602