CPBLWet weather in northern Taiwan resulted in the postponement of two Chinese Professional Baseball League games scheduled for Sunday (La New Bears versus Chinatrust Whales in Sinjhuang and President Lions versus Brother Elephants in Tianmu) as the end of the first half of Taiwan's professional baseball season approaches.
While the Bears appeared to be a sure bet as the first-half champions last month, the competition has now turned into a three-team race, with the second-place Lions (1-1/2 games behind) and the third-place Sinon Bulls (2 games behind) in the hunt for the title. The stakes are high since the champions of the first half of the season gain a berth in the league-championship series against the second-half winners at the end of the regular season.
A 9-1 record by the Lions in their last 10 contests, coupled with the Bears' 5-5 mark over the same span is the main the reason that the Lions have regained their "rulers of the south" distinction, thanks to a tremendous effort from the Lions pitchers Eric Cyr of Canada (3-0 in his last three starts and a 1.08 ERA), Bill Pulsipher of the US (1-0 in his last three games with an ERA of 0.5), and Lin Yueh-ping of Taiwan (2-0 in his last five relief appearances with no earned runs).
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CPBL
Offensively for the big cats, leadoff man Yang Seng and first baseman Kao Guo-ching have carried the bulk of the run production with 11 combined RBIs in the last 10 games, while also batting .458 and .474 over the past 10 games, respectively.
The Lions did not score many runs over the last 10-game stretch, averaging only 5.1 runs per outing, but they gave up an average of only 2.4 runs per game with a defense that committed just six errors in that same stretch.
Unlike the Lions, who mowed through their last 10 games with outstanding pitching and solid defense, the Bulls have quietly put together a 7-3 run over the same span with three one-run wins over the last-place Whales to remain in title contention.
A staff that looked deep and promising with local greats Yang Jien-fu (a 15-game winner and the Taiwan Series MVP in 2004 before an injury-plagued 2005), Tsai Chung-nan (Rookie of the Year winner in 2002 with a major league-caliber split-finger fastball), and Yu Wen-pin (drafted by the Orix Blue Waves of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2003), and Alfredo Gonzalez of the Dominican Republic, Jorge Cortez of Panama and American righty Clint Weibl, was limited to just the three reliable foreign arms that have accounted for all but two of their last 10 wins.
Doing most of the damage offensively for the defending champs are Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan, who leads the league in batting (.415), homers (12), and total bases (102), rookie outfielder Su Jien-rong (sixth in the league with a .327 batting average) and veteran slugger Huang Chung-yi (seventh in the league with a .322 batting average).
For the Bulls to have a legitimate shot at the first-half title, at least two other local pitchers need to rise to the occasion to take over the fourth starter and the all-important closer roles.
Veteran right-hander Kuo Yong-chih could be one of the two missing pieces of the puzzle for the Bulls after he demonstrated his skill with two recent late-inning wins in his newfound reliever's role.
National League
The St. Louis Cardinals had plenty of offense in their first game without Albert Pujols, getting a successful return from Jim Edmonds in a 9-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Pujols, who is batting .308 with 25 homers and 65 RBIs, was put on the 15-day disabled list before the game with a pulled muscle on his right side.
Edmonds, limited to one pinch-hit at-bat in the last seven games by an abdominal injury, was 3-for-3 with an RBI double in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the sixth, and also walked and scored in the first after entering the game in a 3-for-29 slump. The eight-time Gold Glove center fielder played first base for only the 45th time in his career to minimize the risk of further injury from running, but seemed fine if under control on the basepaths.
Scott Rolen had two hits and three RBIs. Juan Encarnacion had a pair of RBI doubles to help the Cardinals salvage the finale of a three-game series.
Jason Marquis (8-4) won his fifth straight start.
Greg Maddux (6-5) is 1-3 with an 8.46 ERA in his last four starts.
In other NL games it was: Giants 7, Mets 6, 12 innings; Diamondbacks 9, Braves 3; Padres 1, Pirates 0; Nationals 8, Brewers 4; Marlins 4, Rockies 3; Reds 6, Astros 4, 11 innings; Phillies 6, Dodgers 4.
American League
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez homered and the Boston Red Sox had three bases-loaded walks in an 8-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Ortiz walked three times for Boston, which won two of three in the weekend series. Alex Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis also homered for the Red Sox.
Ramirez, Ortiz and Trot Nixon had bases-loaded walks during Boston's three-run eighth inning. Tigers manager Jim Leyland also was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Detroit has lost six of their last eight games.
Matt Clement (5-4) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings to get the win. He struck out five, walked two and left with a 2-1 count to Detroit's leadoff hitter in the seventh. The Red Sox said the unusual departure was not due to an injury.
Detroit's Zach Miner (0-1) allowed three runs and seven hits with two walks in four-plus innings in his major league debut.
In other AL games it was: Orioles 11, Yankees 4; Rangers 10, White Sox 2; Athletics 5, Twins 1; Devil Rays 10, Blue Jays 5; Royals 9, Mariners 4; Angels 14, Indians 2.
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