2023 1st Half Season Champions: Uni-Lions
On June 29, in the sea of orange steamers, the Uni-Lions won the 2023 first-half season championship by defeating the Fubon Guardians 7-3 and secured one of the tickets to the playoff. This is also the Uni-Lions’ 16th half-season title in their franchise history since 1990.
“I can finally release the burden on my shoulders after carrying it for almost a week,” said the Uni-Lions manager Lin Yueh-Ping. “I have high hopes that our team will strive for the top spot in the second half season and secure the Taiwan Series.”
Uni-Lions are your 2023 #CPBL 1st-half season Champions! This is the 16th half-season title in the Uni-Lions franchise history. pic.twitter.com/oyc9oUlR5M
— CPBL STATS 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) July 2, 2023
Quick Recap: Uni-Lions 7 – Guardians 3
The Uni-Lions struck first in the third inning with Su Chih-Chieh’s solo homer. They plated two more runs in the fourth inning on a fielding error by the Guardians and an RBI single from Su Chih-Chieh.
Bottom of the fourth, the Guardians cut the deficit to 1-3 with an RBI double from Dai Pei-Feng. But the Uni-Lions added another run the next inning with an infield hit by Lin Tzu-Chieh to make it 4-1.
Fast forward to the top of the ninth inning, with the half-season title in sight, the Uni-Lions added three more insurance runs on four walks and two hits by Chen Chung-Yu and Chen Chung-Ting.
Bottom of the ninth, the Guardians began the inning with a lead-off walk and followed by a two-run home run by Dai Pei-Feng to make it 3-7. But the Uni-Lions bullpen quickly settled down afterwards and successfully registered the final three outs to secure the win.
The Uni-Lions’ starting pitcher Mario Sanchez tossed a gem. He allowed only one run over eight solid innings and struck out five. The 28-year-old Venezuelan right-hander was named the MVP of the game.
“I treated this game like any other game. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself and my teammates,” said Mario Sanchez. “It feels good to win, and we will keep winning.”
Uni-Lions Punch Ticket to 2023 Postseason
After clinching the first-half season title, the Uni-Lions now have a guaranteed placement in the 2023 CPBL Postseason. Whether they will be in the five-game Playoff Series or go straight to the seven-game Taiwan Series is still yet to be determined.