Luis Ugueto became the first President Lions player to have a multi-homer game on Sunday when he drove the ball out of the park twice off Brother Elephants starter Yofu Tetsu to help the cats beat the Elephants 8-6 in the day game of a double-header at Kaohsiung.
The Venezuelan shortstop who is known more for his stellar defensive play than an ability to hit the long ball collected five RBIs on a 3-for-5 day with a three-run shot in the fourth following his two-run blast in the opening inning to account for more than half over the offense for the game.
The eight runs by the Lions was the second most runs that the worst-hitting offense in the league had produced in the 34 games thus far, bailing out a poor start by veteran righty Tsao Jung-yang, who allowed four runs on six hits over three-plus innings to escape what surely would have been a ugly loss for the Lions.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PRESIDENT LIONS
The Lion's 3-0, first-inning lead was quickly erased in the top of the fourth when the Elephants strung together five hits for four runs to chase Tsao before the Lions returned the favor with four runs of their own in the bottom of the same inning, highlighted by the Ugueto's three-run shot, to regain a 7-4 lead.
After the Lions made it 8-4 in the fifth with outfielder Liu Fu-hao's sacrifice fly, the Elephants got a pair of runs back in the sixth to round out all the scoring for the game as the Lions bullpen held up in the final three innings to preserve the win.
Rookie right-hander Cheng Bo-ren was credited with his second win of the year for pitching two innings of one-hit relief, while the Elephants' Yofu suffered his third setback of the season, allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits in four innings of work.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PRESIDENT LIONS
The night game had the Lions trailing 2-1 against an outstanding three-hit effort by rookie starter Liao Yu-cheng through the first six innings until the bottom of the seven, when catcher Kao Chih-kang's liner up the middle off Brother reliever Chuang Pei-chuan scored the equalizer to force a 2-2 tie.
Second baseman Yang Seng's clutch single with the bases loaded off Brother closer Blas Cedeno in the bottom of the ninth then deliver the game-winner in a 3-2 final to complete the double-header sweep.
Bill Pulsipher of the US was rock solid in his Taiwanese debut with eight innings of two-run ball (one earned) on seven hits and four strikeouts for the Lions. But the former major leaguer was not able to pick up the win despite the quality start as the Lions offense struck one inning too late, handing the victory to reliever Lin Yueh-pin instead. Lin worked a one-hit ninth for the win to improve to 3-4 this year.
Cobras 4, Bears 0
Lin "Little Chick" En-yu went nine strong innings on five scattered singles for the Macoto Cobras as they blanked the league-leading La New Bears 4-0 in Tianmu to salvage a 2-2 split in the four-game series for the week.
The complete-game shutout by Lin, his second of the season, not only provided the shorthanded Cobras some much needed rest, it upped the serpents to No. 3 in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League standings, ahead of the Elephants who lost on the day.
Catcher Wu Jau-hui's run-scoring single in the second got the Cobras a quick 1-0 lead against Bears starter Hsu Wen-hsiung before team captain Chiou Chang-rong added to the Cobras lead in the sixth with a two-run single to make it 3-0 in favor of the Cobras.
The normally explosive Bears lineup was shutout for only the third time this year with its golden hitting foursome consisting of Lin Chih-sheng. Chen Chin-fong, Todd Betts and Pan Chung-wei all going hitless for the first time this season.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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