Though they're not quite reaching for the panic button yet, the lack of momentum since their emotionally devastating series against the Elephants at the start of the month has put a damper on the morale of the once high-flying "Rulers of the South."
Besides one lopsided loss (1-8) against the Elephants on Sept. 5, the Lions have lost four very winnable games by a combined margin of six runs, not to mention the one tie that was one strike away from being a win. Simply put, the Lions could have gone 6-1 in their last seven games to take over the lead in league standings, but instead have dropped to 5 1/2 games behind the Elephants.
In their lone victory of the series against the Chinatrust Whales last Thursday, the Lion batters went to work early by spotting starter John Frascatore a 6-0 lead through four innings of play. That was more than plenty for the American right-hander, because Frascatore also helped his own cause by keeping the Lions off the board in the seven innings he pitched.
By the time Lions skipper Hsieh Chang-hehn (謝長亨) turned to his bullpen in the eighth, his team had already grabbed a 7-0 lead.
The Whales avoided the shutout by scoring two runs the eighth to make it a 7-2 final score.
Game 2 of the series began with the Whales taking a 4-0 lead against Lion starter Jose Parra in the top of the first and the Lions playing catch-up throughout the night.
The Lions would not go away easily as they scored a run in the second, third, and fourth off Whale starter Kuo-Lee Chien-fu (
The highlight of the game was the brilliant effort by Whale reliever Liu Yu-chan (柳裕展), who entered the game in the sixth with a 6-5 lead that was shaky at best. The right-hander rose to the occasion and three-hit the Lions in three solid innings of relief en route to his first game-MVP honor of the season. The Whales ended up winning the hard-fought battle because neither team would score again.
The series finale on Sunday also went the Whales' way, as the Lions lost the lead twice in a classic seesaw battle that ended 8-5.
A three-run third capped by Whale left fielder Wang Cheng-hao's (王宸浩) two-run single to left erased the 1-0 lead that the Lions had taken in the game' s first inning. Wang would strike again in the fifth with his bases-clearing triple to give the Whales the lead for good, after the Lions had come back to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Wang's five-RBI night made him the unanimous selection for the game-MVP honor.
In the other two series around the league, there were no surprises as the favored teams won in their respective series. The Sinon Bulls treated their diehard fans in Taichung with a 3-0-1 record in the four-game series against the First Securities Agan. Game 1 showcased Yang Ren-ming (陽仁明) and Yu Wen-pin (余文彬) of the Bulls as the two young guns combined to turn in a 4-0 shutout on Tuesday night.
Game 2 on Wednesday night had the Agan holding a slim 1-0 lead into the seventh before the Bulls tied it on slugger Chang Tai-shan's (
The Agan avoided a clean sweep by tying the Bulls 1-1 in the series finale on Saturday night.
The league-leading Elephants also did what they were supposed to do by sweeping the Makoto Gida in the three-game series.
Led by veteran starter Jonathan Hurst's seven-inning shutout, the Elephants easily handled the Gida 8-4 in Thursday night's series opener.
Friday night's contest was a classic pitching duel as the starters from both teams kept the opposing hitters at bay through the seventh. Elephant left fielder Lin Ming-shien's (林明憲) go-ahead RBI single was the difference in the 1-0 thriller.
The sweep was inevitable as the Gida found themselves in a 7-1 hole after just five innings of play on Sunday. The 17 hits by the Elephant hitters translated into 11 runs in the 11-2 slaughter.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two