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.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS