2020 Taiwan Series G5: Uni-Lions 6 – Brothers 0

The Uni-Lions came into Game Five of the Taiwan Series with a lot of pressure on their shoulders. If they want to win the Taiwan Series, they need to win the next three games (G5-6-7).

After being backed into the corner, the Uni-Lions clawed back with a 6-0 shutout win against the CTBC Brothers and narrowing the Brothers’ Taiwan Series lead to 3-2.

  • CTBC Brothers (3-2) at Uni-Lions (2-3)
  • Thursday, November 5, 2020
  • Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium
  • WP: No. 50 Brock Dykxhoorn (1-0, 0.60 ERA)
  • LP: No. 35 Esmil Rogers (0-1, 3.65 ERA)
  • S: Uni-Lions turn to not need the bullpen!
  • MVP: Uni-Lions SP No. 50 Brock Dykxhoorn (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, complete-game shutout)
  • Box Score & Game Highlights
  • Attendance: 7,800 (78% seating capacity limits)
  • Game time: 3:03

G5 Game Notes

  • Move over Esmil, José, and Ariel. There is a new sheriff in town. His name is Dykxhoorn, Brock Dykxhoorn. Holy schnikes! Did anyone see this coming?! With his team’s backs to the wall down 1-3, Lions SP Brock Dykxhoorn put the entire Taiwan Series on his 6’8”, 250 lb frame and carried them all the way back to Taichung. Dykxhoorn tossed 126 pitches-of-his-life in a 6-0 complete-game shutout (14th in Taiwan Series history) of the Brothers in G5 of the series, allowing a measly four men on base (three singles, one walk) while striking out nine, to keep his team alive. I was surprised to see Dykxhoorn (pronounced dikes-hoo-rn) back out there for the 8th inning after 106 pitches and a six-run lead. I was floored to see him trot back out there for the 9th after 120 pitches. Are you watching MLB?!?!?! To hail with your pitch counts! Isn’t it refreshing to see? I love it. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an organizational decision to send him back out there. The coaches came, they saw, and they let it be! If a contract offer for next season wasn’t already on the table, it surely is now.

  • Brothers SP Esmil Rogers, on the other hand, had himself a rough night. After an 8-inning, one run dandy in G1 at home, Rogers’ home-away splits stood true as he was touched up for six runs (four earned) on seven hits, two walks, and three strikeouts in 4.1 IP in Tainan. And he needed 104 pitches to do it. His breaking ball was not as sharp as usual and he never seemed settled. Two errors in the 5th (3B Wang Wei-Chen and RF Chen Tzu-Hao) did not help his cause but Lions hitters looked at home against Rogers.
  • The major damage levied against Rogers came on a pair of two-run doubles, one off the bat of light-hitting catcher Lin Yo-Le in the 2nd with the other coming in the 5th on a Pan Chieh-Kai double down the left-field line, which would knock Rogers out of the game. All in all, the Lions offense finally showed some life (an abysmal sub-.200 team average through four games), pounding out nine hits en route to their six runs.
  • The Brothers have not scored in 13 consecutive innings.
  • This was the first game in the series without a 3-run HR (Pan Wu-Hsiung G1, Su Wei-Da G2, Hsu Chih-Hung G3, Chan Tzu-Hsien G4).
  • Lions RF Lin An-Ko has hit safely in all five series games (.368 AVG).

2020 Taiwan Series G6 Starting Pitchers

  • Game 6 starters (unofficial): Uni-Lions Tim Melville (6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K in G2 loss) vs. Brothers José de Paula (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K in G2 win). We head back up north to Taichung with a 5:05 pm Taiwan time (4:05 am EST) game time on Saturday, November 7. Get up and watch and then take a siesta! Unfortunately, no English broadcast.

[Will update this part when team announced their Game Six starting pitchers]

Highlights of 2020 Taiwan Series G5

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