Wowing the 16,000-plus fans in the stands with a pair of home runs, the MLB All-Stars outfought a resilient Taiwan national squad to run away with a 6-4 win in Game 5 of the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series at Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday afternoon, sweeping the friendly exhibition series in grand fashion.
Robinson Cano (New York Yankees) showed off his expertise in the long-ball category with a solo shot off Taiwan reliever Yang Yao-hsun (陽耀勳) in the top of the third that put the visitors ahead 4-3. Ty Wigginton (Colorado Rockies) followed with a pinch-hit blast off Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ching (林煜清) to lead off the seventh that provided an insurance run for the Big Leaguers.
The highly anticipated showdown between Jeremy Guthrie (Baltimore Orioles) and Taiwan’s very own Major Leaguer, Wang Chien-ming (王建民), of the Washington Nationals did not live up to its hype, as both starters failed to shut down the opposing hitters by serving up three runs apiece through the first two innings of play.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
After surviving a shaky first that saw him give up a walk and a single without surrendering any runs, Wang found himself in trouble in a three-run second by giving up two doubles and a single even though two of the three runs were unearned.
However, Guthrie returned the favor by allowing a two-run double to Taiwan’s Pan Chih-fang (潘志芳) before an RBI groundout by Lin Che-hsuan (林哲瑄) tied the game at 3-all in the bottom of the second.
That set up Cano’s homer, which gave the All-Stars a 4-3 lead that they added to with a run in the fifth inning when Logan Morrison’s (Florida Marlins) double off reliever Cheng Wen-hao (鄭文豪) drove in Ryan Roberts (Arizona Diamonbacks) all the way from first to make it 5-3.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Even though Taiwan’s hitters plated a run in the bottom of that frame against reliever LaTroy Hawkins (Milwaukee Brewers) to again reduce the deficit to one run, that was as close as they managed against the stingy bullpen work of Rich Thompson (Los Angeles Angels), Jose Veras (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Mark Melancon (Houston Astros), who combined for four shutout innings of two-hit relief to deny Taiwan any chance for a rally.
Thompson earned his second win of the series with two innings of shutout ball. He allowed a hit, while fanning four and walking one to beat counterpart Yang, who gave the Major Leaguers the lead for good on the homer to Cano.
“It’s been a very positive influence for baseball in Taiwan,” Major League skipper Bruce Bochy (San Francisco Giants) said after the game.
Photo: Reuters
His troops came in and showed why the Major League is still the premier stage where only the elite can compete and thrive in the game of baseball.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
RSS