Chinese Taipei Baseball: Rakuten Shuts Out Fubon as Chen Ke-yi Makes Rare History After Benches Clear

Chen Ke-yi hit Fubon Guardians slugger Chang Yu-cheng twice, the second time in the sixth inning, and the two teams briefly emptied their benches. Yet the Rakuten Monkeys pitcher still completed seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win that kept his team atop the second-half standings.

Chen repeatedly worked out of trouble. He faced runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, including three walks or hit batters in the second, but escaped without allowing a run. He then retired six straight batters in the fourth and fifth innings.

Fubon put runners on first and second with nobody out in the sixth. Chen responded by inducing Dong Tzu-en to ground into a double play, then retired Wang Cheng-tang on a ground ball. He faced another two-on situation with two outs in the seventh before Ye Tzu-ting hit a line drive to right field for the final out of his outing.

Chen finished with four hits allowed, six walks or hit batters and seven strikeouts. He hit three batters in total, including Chang twice in the third and sixth innings. After the second incident, Chen crouched on the mound in frustration, while Fubon manager Mitsutaka Goto entered the field and held up two fingers. Goto and Rakuten coach Chen Yen-feng exchanged words, but the confrontation did not escalate.

Rakuten broke through in the third inning against Fubon starter Helios, scoring four runs after three consecutive hits by Ma Chieh-sen, Chen Chen-wei and Lin Li. Lin Hung-yu added a two-run single, and Liang Chia-jung contributed an extra-base hit. Helios lasted 6 1/3 innings and gave up seven hits and four runs. Chuang Hsin-yen and Chen Kuan-yu completed the shutout in the eighth and ninth innings.