Yudai Abe Wins First CPBL Start, Keeps Commemorative Ball as Mother's Day Gift

(Central News Agency reporter Hsieh Ching-wen, New Taipei, May 12) Fubon Guardians today sent Japanese pitcher Yudai Abe for his first start in the CPBL. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing only 1 hit, with a quality start and no runs, leading the team to a 2-1 victory over the CTBC Brothers. He won his first start in the CPBL and kept the commemorative ball as a Mother's Day gift for his mother.

The Guardians hosted the CTBC Brothers at their home stadium, Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium, today. Guardians' Japanese pitcher Yudai Abe showed dominant pitching in his start, retiring the first 8 batters. It wasn't until two outs in the top of the 3rd inning that he allowed his first hit to Yueh Tung-hua, but he did not allow the Brothers to continue their offensive.

Neither team scored in the first three innings. In the bottom of the 4th, with two outs, Chang Yu-cheng hit a double. With walks and Tong Yu-cheng's triple, 2 runs were brought home in one shot. Tong Yu-cheng achieved his first triple and first RBI in his CPBL first-team career.

The Brothers only managed 2 hits in the first 8 innings. In the top of the 9th, facing Guardians' closer Tseng Juen-yueh, Chang Chih-hao hit a double after one out, and Huang Wei-sheng's single brought in a run, but the offense could not be sustained, and they lost.

Guardians' starting pitcher Yudai Abe today threw a total of 113 pitches over 6.1 innings, allowing only 1 hit, with 5 strikeouts and 4 walks, and no runs. He earned the win in his career debut quality start and was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game. He kept his first win commemorative ball to give to his mother as a Mother's Day gift.

Guardians' manager Mitsutaka Goto admitted that he was very nervous in the 9th inning but was finally relieved when they secured the victory. He also praised Yudai Abe's perfect pitching performance today, noting that in his previous social league games in Japan, he usually threw around 110 pitches per game, so they decided to let him continue pitching even after reaching nearly 100 pitches.

Yudai Abe said that he was particularly looking forward to his first team start at home and was very happy to win for the team. He regretted issuing two consecutive walks in the 7th inning, as he actively wanted to challenge the opponents, but unfortunately ended up walking them. Regarding his first win in the CPBL first team, Yudai Abe mentioned that whether in Japan or Taiwan, his biggest goal is to help the team win. Pitching coach Hsu Ming-chieh also praised him for his 'good pitching' when he walked to the mound. As for his first MVP dancing experience, he laughed and said, 'Did you see it? I was terrible, absolutely not good at it.' (Editor: Li Shu-hua) 1150512

Stand with facts, every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom.

Download the Central News Agency 'First-hand News' APP to instantly grasp the latest news.

Texts, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.