"When you're hot, the baseball looks as big as a basketball," Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan
The league's newly crowned career home run leader was 3-for-3 with a solo homer that surpassed the previous mark set by former Mercury Tigers great Luis Iglesias of Panama.
Along with the homer, Chang's 11th of the year and 165th in an illustrious career, the outstanding slugger from Taitung also collected his 700th RBI to celebrate the win on a milestone night.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CPBL
Cheng Chang-ming's double and Chen Jien-wei's single in the top of the first and fourth respectively spotted Whales starter Chu Wei-ming an early 2-0 lead that was cut in half by the Prince in the bottom of the fourth with one monstrous swing.
The Bulls would knot things up at 2-2 in the sixth when first baseman Hsu Guo-long drew a bases-loaded walk off Chu after two outs that chased the Whales starter.
The score remained 2-all until the bottom of the eighth when the victorious Bulls skidded ahead for good after second baseman Huang Chung-yi slapped a two-out single off Whales reliever Shen Yu-jeh and scored on Hsu's line-drive single up the middle for what turned out to be the game-winning hit.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CPBL
Set-up man Kuo Yong-chih picked up his second win in as many days for pitching a scoreless eighth before Panamanian right-hander Jorge Cortez got the final two outs in the ninth for his first save of the year.
As for the hapless Whales who lost their third one-run game of the week over a series sweep by the Bulls, the term "bad luck" could not even begin to describe the kind of season they are having as they sink to the bottom of the Chinese Professional Baseball League standings in the mist of a four-game losing streak.
Bears 6, Cobras 3
Bears 3, Cobras 1
Behind solid efforts by their top two pitchers, the La New Bears earned a double-header sweep against the Macoto Cobras in Sinjuang Saturday to become the CPBL's first 20-win club, beating the Cobras 6-3 in the afternoon and then 3-1 in the evening.
American righty Kenny Rayborn pocketed his league-leading sixth victory of the season with seven innings of three-run ball (all unearned), allowing six hits while fanning five and walking five.
After a shaky three-run first that included a key error by the Bears defense and a wild pitch that scored a run, Rayborn quickly regained his usual presence on the mound to keep the scoring gate shut over the next six innings. The Bears bullpen also did its part with reliever Lee Fong-hua retiring six Cobras straight over two perfect innings to secure the win.
Offensively for the Bears, outfielder Tsai Jien-wei's 3-for-5 hitting with three RBIs led an attack that rang up 14 hits off a depleted Cobras staff that was missing two of its top four pitchers because of injuries.
The night game between the two squads had the serpents jumping to a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo shot by Dominican slugger Rudy Pemberton off Bears lefty ace Wu Si-yo.
The Cobras lead lasted less than an inning as the Bears roared back to answer with a two-run fifth on a rare triple by third baseman Shih Chih-wei off game loser Lee Ming-jin, that scored both runs in the inning. Lee got the unexpected call to the mound one batter into the fifth when starter Hsu Chu-jien had to leave the game with some soreness to his throwing arm after what had been four magnificent innings by Hsu in a one-hit outing.
Lin Chih-sheng's solo shot to deep center off Cobras reliever Felix Villegas in the ninth was icing on the cake, as the Bears completed the double-header sweep of the serpents in a convincing manner.
Wu remained undefeated for the year with the win as he improved to a 5-0 record with another solid start, allowing the lone Cobras run on six hits and five strikeouts.
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
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
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