Both the Chinatrust Brother Elephants and the Uni Lions are coming off of nearly 3 days of rest.
Each team actually took 2 out of 3 games in their respective weekend series.
The Brother Elephants have been tabbed as the team of the future and it appears, at least on the pitching side, that they are the team of the present.
As a team, they have allowed a total of 37 runs in their first 10 games played.
That is easily the best in the CPBL. Conversely, the Uni Lions have allowed more than double that number.
85 scored against over 11 contests is t-totally-turrble.
The Brother Elephants have had an incredibly hard time scoring runs this year, though.
One look at their run total of just 47, and you would be inclined to think that they can’t get on base and probably strike out often.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
2nd in batting average, total hits, and OPS…so what gives?
For one-clutch hitting. I couldn’t find this particular statistic but based on the other numbers, I would say they have stranded more base runners than any other team so far in 2020.
I know they are getting guys in scoring position as well because the Brothers lead the league in doubles.
The stat that leaps off the page for me is their home run total compared to those in the rest of the league.
6 home runs…
Through 10 games, that doesn’t sound that bad but each team in the rest of the league more than doubles that number and the Monkeys have more than 20.
Their opponent on Wednesday, the Uni Lions, are notorious for having bad leadership from the dugout to the front office.
Watching them hand the Rakuten Monkeys their first loss of the season by walk-off was nice though.
⚾| 2020/4/26 17:00(GMT+8) From #Taiwan #Tainan Baseball Stadium, we have the final game of the #RakutenMonkeys visiting #UniLions, both got 1W1L in the first two. Watch here for the 2020 #CPBL regular season in ENGLISH!!! #ForTheFans #ELEVENSPORTS https://t.co/0dPvjklC9W
— ELEVEN SPORTS TAIWAN (@ElevenSportsTW) April 25, 2020
They reminded me of a little league team how excited they were.
I love their heart but the fact remains that they have the worst batting average in the league by far at just .245.
The Lions’ team ERA is 6.70, another major statistical category where they sit firmly at the bottom of the CPBL.
22 home runs allowed-dead last. Rakuten is next up at 13 and the Brother Elephants have somehow only given up 5 long balls on the season.
This is a mismatch on paper so far.
Let’s focus on the pitching matchup and make our predictions for the Chinatrust Brother Elephants vs the Uni Lions.
BetOnline.AG has the odds. Let’s do it!
Chinatrust Brothers vs Uni Lions
Taking the bump for the Brothers will be Huang En-Sih, a 23-year-old right-hander from Taiwan.
Last year was a rough one for the local product.
So far, so good.
This is not good at all especially when you consider his team has a league-leading ERA of just over 3.00 so far this season.
In his lone appearance and start this year, Huang went 6 innings and gave up 3 earned runs while striking out 7 batters and walking only one.
Chinatrust Brothers' 黃恩賜 (Huang En-Sih) struck out 7 across 6 innings of work last night. (6IP, 8H, 3ER, 7K, 1BB) #CPBL pic.twitter.com/1fAa3bvVHM
— CPBL STATS (@GOCPBL) April 16, 2020
On top of being the worst hitting team in the league by far and being the worst pitching team in the league by far, the Uni Lions are the worst fielding team in the league by far.
They have 12 errors thus far and that’s twice as many as any other team in the league.
Okay, so we can expect decent pitching from the Brother Elephants.
30-year-old Donn Roach already has a WHIP over 2.00 in two starts so far this year.
Both the Rakuten Monkeys and Fubon Guardians have lit him up already this year.
He has given up 18 hits and 10 runs in his first two starts and failed to get through the 5th inning each time.
The Las Vegas native is going to need to improve the level of his play dramatically or he might be sent farming to the Uni Lions II.
The Uni Lions are running on emotion but a few days off should be enough to calm them down and the team is likely headed for another reality check on Wednesday vs the Brothers.
The Brothers are hitting close to .300 with an ERA of 3.00.
Their winning percentage will improve and I believe in another month or so, they will be firmly in second place behind the defending champion Rakuten Monkeys.
The Lions are allowing nearly 7 earned runs per ballgame and hitting less than .250 on the year.
Without their solid timing and good heart, we might be talking about a 1 or 2 win team instead of 5-6.
They have won 2 in a row, though…just tells me they are due for an L.
Going after the run total is tough.
We know the Brothers can get hits. They just don’t score much.
The Lions don’t hit the ball well but have plated runners quite efficiently in 2020
Nearly half of the Brothers’ games this season have been decided by one run or less.
I will pass on the run line because of this.
Let’s just go money at (-161).
In Conclusion
This game appears to be a mismatch on paper but not enough to where I want to take the Brothers (-1.5).
I think that will come as the season moves along but for now, the moneyline bet feels much safer to me.
Also, the Brother Elephants are probably sending their weakest starting pitcher out there tomorrow.
That doesn’t help my confidence for a shellacking.
I see Huang En-Sih giving up 2 runs over 6 innings and the bullpen only allowing 1 over the next three.
Give Chinatrust 6 or 7 runs total especially if they can get to the Lions’ bullpen early.
Get your bets in now and enjoy the game tomorrow if you have time!
