2023 Taiwan Series G2: Monkeys 4 – Dragons 0

On November 5, the Rakuten Monkeys defeated the Wei Chuan Dragons 4-0 with a late rally in extra innings, taking Game Two of the Taiwan Series. The best-of-7 series is now tied at 1-1.

Game Two was a textbook pitching duel as both teams’ starting pitchers went deep into the game. The Dragons’ Jake Brigham tossed eight scoreless innings with six strikeouts, while Monkeys’ submariner Huang Tzu-Peng also delivered a quality gem, striking out six over eight scoreless innings.

The score remained 0-0 until the top of the 11th inning when Lin Li drew a walk and scored the first run of the game on a double by Liang Chia-Jung. The Monkeys increased their lead to 4-0 that inning with three more singles and two walks while the bases were loaded to secure their win over the Dragons.

With the series tied at 1-1, the Monkeys will host Game Three and Game Four at Taoyuan Stadium from November 7-8.

Benches-Clearing Incident Over Emotional Gesture

There was a brief benches-clearing incident in the top of the eighth inning when Dragons’ Jake Brigham clenched his fist and roared at the Monkeys’ dugout after a crucial double play that ended the inning. The emotional on-field gesture led to players from both teams confronting each other near home plate, but the situation did not escalate.

“They [Monkeys] were too sensitive. What I did was to motivate my teammates. I was very excited about the double play,” said Dragons’ starting pitcher Jake Brigham to Liberty Sports after the game.

“Brigham’s provocative gesture was quite obvious. I can understand he was very excited at the moment, but there was no need to do that directly at our dugout,” Monkeys’ outfielder Cheng Chin told Liberty Sports.

Monkeys manager Tseng Hao-Chu praised the Dragons’ defence on that particular double play after the game and said it is normal for emotions to run high in the Taiwan Series, with on-field confrontations being inevitable, as long as both sides let it out during the moment and let it end after the game.

Post-Game Quotes From Both Managers

“This was a tough game as we faced Jake Brigham, who is an excellent pitcher. We tried to work his pitch count, but were unable to prevent him from going the distance,” Monkeys’ manager Tseng Hao-Chu told ETtoday. “I also want to give credit to our domestic ace Huang Tzu-Peng for being so dominant on the mound in this postseason.”

“The Monkeys’ players are very experienced when it comes to playoffs. They are quick to make adjustments to their weaknesses and mistakes, and this is something our young players need to learn from them,” Dragons’ manager Yeh Chun-Chang told TSNA. “I can feel our young players are very excited, and I just want them to enjoy this Taiwan Series experience.”

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