Favorites won their respective games in the Chinese Professional Baseball League on Saturday with the top-ranked La New Bears downing the Chinatrust Whales 3-0 in Tienmu and the Uni-President Lions cruising past the dmedia T-Rex 7-3 in Sinjhuang to remain a game behind the Bears in the standings.
The Bears set a new club record for longest win-streak with their ninth straight, thanks to an outstanding performance by Chang Chih-jia who tossed seven scoreless innings of five-hit ball before the La New bullpen took over with a perfect eighth and ninth to keep the shutout intact.
Doing the damage on offense for the Bears were Gary Burnham and Pan Chung-wei who drove in a run with a pair of hits apiece to account for two of their team’s three runs.
The Whales had two scoring opportunities with runners reaching second during the first and sixth, but failed to come up with the clutch hits either time.
LIONS 7, T-REX 3
The Uni-President Lions took advantage of a six-run fourth to overcome an early deficit in a 7-3 win over the dmedia T-Rex.
Trailing 0-1 after three innings of play against dmedia starter Cory Bailey, the Lions erupted for six runs on the strength of eight singles off Bailey to lead 6-1.
That was enough for Aaron Fultz who regrouped after giving up the early dmedia run by allowing only two more runs through the eighth.
All but two of the Lions’ starting nine drove in a run on the night with Yang Song-hsuen’s 3-for-5 effort heading the pack.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just