Taipei Times
Date: Oct 20, 2018
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter
The Uni-President Lions won Game 1 of the CPBL Playoff Series in a dramatic finish with
Josh Roenicke of the Uni-President Lions pitches against the Fubon Guardians in Game 1 of their CPBL playoff series in Tainan yesterday. Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
the final swing of the bat, as third baseman Kuo Fu-lin blasted a home run that also brought home two other runners as the Lions seized a 4-1 victory over the Fubon Guardians in Tainan last night.
In a tight contest with the score still tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Lions mounted a rally with the two leadoff men getting on bases with a walk and a single.
The Guardians then brought specialist closer Kuo Hung-chih, the former Los Angeles Dodger, to the mound.
However, it was no use against the red hot Kuo Fu-lin, who launched a shot into the centerfield bleachers for a walk-off home run to end the game and send home fans wild as the Lions grabbed a 1-0 series lead.
The winners of the best-of-five Playoff Series go on to meet the Lamigo Monkeys in the Taiwan Series.
Uni-President Lions officials had invited the parents of pitcher Ryan Verdugo from the US for a pre-game ceremony last night, but at the last minute it was postponed to Game 2, because CPBL commissioner John Wu had a prior commitment and could not make it to the game in Tainan. [FULL STORY]
