Uni-Lions Pitchers Issue 6 Walks in One Inning; Lin Yueh-Ping Points Out Key Pitch Issue for Li Jun

(Central News Agency reporter Su Chih-Yu, Taipei, June 6) The Uni-President 7-ELEVEN Lions' pitching staff issued six walks in a single inning yesterday, handing the opponent a chance to take the lead. Today, they made a roster move, calling up pitcher Liu Hsuan-Cha, and manager Lin Yueh-Ping also pointed out the issue with young pitcher Li Jun's key pitch after getting two strikes.

In yesterday's game against the Fubon Guardians, the Lions led 2-0 after six innings. However, in the top of the 7th inning, starting pitcher Brock Dykxhoorn issued a walk and was pulled from the game. He was followed by Li Jun (2 walks), Huang Chun-Yen (2 walks), and Li Chi-Feng (1 walk), allowing the Guardians to score six runs and overturn the game.

The Lions optioned Huang Chun-Yen and called up Liu Hsuan-Cha today. Manager Lin Yueh-Ping explained before the game that they also needed to make room for starting pitcher Jackson Stephens, who will be called up tomorrow, so they optioned position player Li Cheng-Ling.

Regarding a recent incident where Brothers pitching coach Wang Chien-Ming was photographed forcefully closing a telephone box door after his pitchers underperformed, Lin was asked about it and laughed, saying, "You'd have to ask Pan Wei-Lun (the Lions' pitching coach) about that."

As for young pitcher Li Jun, who has performed well this season but has also shown control issues, Lin pointed out, "Li Jun can get to two strikes, but his key pitch is too far off the plate, making it easy for batters to lay off. It comes down to whether he can throw his finishing pitch over the plate and get a result." (Editor: Li Heng-Shan) 1150606