CPBL: Huang Wei-chieh clears a career hurdle again after 4,030 days

Huang Wei-chieh had to wait 4,030 days to pitch beyond the fifth inning again. The Wei Chuan Dragons right-hander finally reached that mark on Wednesday against the Rakuten Monkeys, throwing 83 pitches over 5⅓ innings.

The 32-year-old allowed eight hits and three runs, leaving the game without a decision. He had kept Rakuten scoreless through five innings and had already reached the 70-pitch limit set before the game by Dragons manager Yeh Chun-chang.

Huang continued into the sixth and retired Lin Li before giving up a double to foreign hitter Wicker. A wild pitch moved the runner to third, and Lin Hung-yu’s timely single put Rakuten on the board. After another single created a first-and-second situation with one out, Wei Chuan replaced Huang with left-hander Wang Po-yang.

The pitching change did not stop the inning. Wang walked Liang Chia-jung, then Lin Tzu-wei singled home another run. Wei Chuan changed pitchers again, but Rakuten scored a third run on a fly ball before Lin Tzu-wei was thrown out trying to advance to second.

Rakuten tied the game in the eighth on a double by Li Hsun-chieh and a single by Liang, wiping out Huang’s chance at a winning decision. Huang’s previous game of more than five innings came on Aug. 21, 2015, when he started for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Class A team, worked six innings and took the loss after allowing two runs, one earned.