CPBLHuang Chung-yi's two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth scored the game-winner for the Sinon Bulls as they rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Brother Elephants 3-2 in Sunday's thriller at Tienmu.
"I know I hadn't been hitting the ball as well as I would've liked lately, so this is a great way for me to help the team," the veteran infielder for the defending champs said after the game. He smashed a high fastball from Elephants reliever Liu Jung-nan to shallow-left for the game-winner, keeping the Bulls within striking distance of the league-leading La New Bears at two games behind with around 10 games left in the first half of the season.
Pitchers duel
The pitchers duel between the Elephants' Liao Yu-cheng and the Bulls' Jorge Cortez of Panama had the home Bulls breaking the ice for a 1-0 lead on first baseman Hsu Guo-long's bouncer to short that scored Yu Shein-ming from third after Yu had drawn a leadoff walk off Liao and advanced to second on a balk before reaching third with another walk issued by the Brother starter.
Down by a run, the Elephants answered with the equalizer in the top of the sixth when third baseman Chu Hong-seng lined a clean double off Cortez to start out the inning and made it to third on a passed ball by the Bulls catcher before scoring on a double play ball that was hit by fellow shortstop Chen Rei-cheng.
The score remained 1-all until the top of the ninth when the Elephants forced in a go-ahead run with catcher Chen Rei-chang's bases-loaded walk off Bulls reliever Kuo Yong-chih to take a 2-1 lead, setting the stage for Huang's final at-bat herioics.
Bulls reliever Yang Jien-fu was credited with the unexpected win for getting the last out in the top of the ninth on just six pitches as he improved to 4-5 for the season.
Squandering the win for the Elephants was Liu, who could not deliver the knockout punch for his team in a save opportunity as he fell to 2-7 for the season with the disheartening loss.
Still in search for his first victory in a professional uniform was Liao, who pitched seven brilliant innings of one-run ball on a lone hit and five walks, despite having allowed just one run in each of his last three starts to become a legitimate number two starter for his team.
American League
Dan Johnson's second homer snapped an eighth-inning tie, Barry Zito won his fifth straight decision and the Oakland Athletics completed their first sweep at Yankee Stadium in 12 years by beating New York 6-5 on Sunday.
Nick Swisher hit an inside-the-park homer and Jason Kendall drove in two runs for the surging A's, who have won four in a row and seven of eight. They are 9-2 following a 1-10 skid.
Zito (7-3) beat New York for the first time since May 2003 despite tying a career high with seven walks. The 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner allowed five runs and four hits in seven innings before a sellout crowd. Huston Street worked a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 17 chances.
Mariners 6, Angels 2
At Anaheim, California, Felix Hernandez pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game in the majors.
Hernandez (6-6) won his third straight outing with just 94 pitches, striking out nine and walking none in his 25th career start and first against the Angels. The 20-year-old gave up a first-inning run on Orlando Cabrera's RBI single, then retired his next 17 batters before Cabrera led off the seventh with a double and scored on Garret Anderson's sacrifice fly.
Jeremy Reed and Raul Ibanez homered and Adrian Beltre had a two-run single for the Mariners, who have won nine of their last 11 games after losing six straight.
Jeff Weaver (3-9) was charged with four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Indians 10, White Sox 8
At Chicago, Victor Martinez and Ronnie Belliard hit two-run homers, Travis Hafner and Jason Michaels added solo shots, and Cleveland beat the White Sox to avoid a three-game sweep.
The four home runs tied a season-high for Cleveland, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
That was plenty for Jake Westbrook (6-3), who allowed two runs in eight innings and improved to 3-0 against the White Sox. He gave up six hits and struck out four.
Martinez and Belliard went deep in the fifth to extend the Indians' lead to 7-2, and Hafner knocked out White Sox starter Freddy Garcia (7-4) with a solo shot in the sixth. Michaels added a solo homer off Sean Tracy in the eighth.
The White Sox rallied for six runs in the ninth before Bob Wickman got the final two outs for his ninth save in 10 opportunities.
National League
Shawn Hill allowed two hits in seven innings, Jose Guillen had a two-run double and the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 on Sunday.
Hill (1-1) walked three and struck out four in winning for the first time since July 2004, with Montreal, his only previous major league victory. The right-hander didn't pitch in 2005 after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery in September 2004.
The only Phillies hitter to have success against Hill was Ryan Howard, who singled to left in the second and doubled to right in the fourth.
Bill Bray pitched the eighth and Saul Rivera worked the ninth to complete the combined three-hitter for Washington's second shutout of the year, and the first this season against Philadelphia.
The Nationals, winners of nine of 11, scored all four runs off Cole Hamels (1-1) with two outs. He allowed six hits in five innings, walked two and struck out a season-high eight.
Dodgers 6, Rockies 5
At Denver, Russell Martin hit a tying RBI double and pinch-hitter Sandy Alomar Jr. followed with a run-scoring single in the ninth inning for Los Angeles.
Danny Baez (4-3) worked a scoreless eighth inning and Takashi Saito got the last three outs for his fourth save in four chances.
Pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz doubled with one-out in the ninth off Brian Fuentes (1-1), who blew his second save in 15 chances. Martin followed with his double to tie the score at 5, and Alomar put the Dodgers ahead.
Matt Kemp homered in his first two at-bats for his first multihomer game for the Dodgers.
Todd Helton hit a two-run home run and Garrett Atkins had a two-run double for Colorado.
Mets 15, Diamondbacks 2
At Phoenix, Carlos Beltran drove in four runs and Carlos Delgado had three RBIs as New York completed a four-game sweep and knocked Arizona out of first place in the National League West.
The Mets won their fifth straight game, batting around in the fourth and fifth innings to chase Arizona starter Russ Ortiz (0-5).
Pedro Martinez (6-2) allowed one run in five innings to earn his first victory since April 28.
The Mets, who scored a season-high 15 runs, improved to 6-1 on their 10-game road trip.
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