CPBL
Back-to-back home victories over the Brother Elephants in Kaohsiung on Thursday and Friday helped the La New Bears reclaim a one-game lead over the idle President Lions as the race for the first-half title continued in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Shih Chih-wei's clutch single with a man on third scored the go-ahead run for the Bears to cap a four-run rally in a 6-5 win. It was the Bears' only lead in the game after they had trailed through the first six innings, but a lead that stood until the end of the game.
Rookie slugger Chen Guan-ren's three-run homer off Bears starter Ramon Morel gave the Elephants a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as a hostile home crowd eager to cheer on the much anticipated season debut for Morel (former Sinon Bulls' ace closer that helped them won two league titles in 2003 and 2004) was silenced in a hurry.
The Bears answered with a run in the second and the third innings to cut the Elephants lead to 3-2 on Chen Chin-fong's solo blast to deep left field off Elephants starter Joey Dawley of the US and Tsai Chih-wei's sacrifice fly, respectively.
After the Elephants struck for a pair of runs in the fourth to regain a 5-2 lead and chase Morel, the hosts then scored a run in the fourth and the fifth innings to keep things close before Chen's RBI double down the third base line forced a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning to set the stage for Shih's late-game heroics.
Bears lefty Wu Si-yo came out of the bullpen with 1-2/3 innings of stellar relief to record his eighth win of the year, while closer Lee Fong-hua picked up the save for tossing a perfect ninth to preserve the win.
Taking the tough loss was Elephants reliever Yeh Yong-jeh, who surrendered the game-winner to Shih to even his record at 1-1.
Bears 6, Elephants 1
Thursday night's contest between the two clubs in Kaohsiung had the Elephants jumping to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on Chen "Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan's run-scoring single off American righty Kenny Rayborn before the Bears rallied with six unanswered runs to produce a 6-1 win.
The lone third-inning run was be all the scoring that the Elephants could muster as the Bears staff ace promptly regrouped and pitched the next four innings without allowing another run before Tsai Ying-fong, Wu and Lee combined for two innings of hitless relief to secure the win.
Offensively for the Bears, a three-run fifth, highlighted by shortstop Lin Chih-sheng's two-run single up the middle, gave the hosts a 3-1 lead before three more runs in the eighth helped secure the Bears victory.
Rayborn pocketed his eighth win of the year with seven innings of one-run ball on six hits and five walks. He was not particularly overpowering, but effective nonetheless in becoming the league's first eight-win man.
Elephants starter Liu Jung-nan tossed four scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the fifth for his league-worst eighth loss of the year. He finished with three runs (one earned) on four hits over 5-2/3 innings of work.
Major Leagues
Nate Robertson pitched seven effective innings and Curtis Granderson doubled, tripled and scored twice to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago Cubs 5-3 in interleague play on Friday.
Robertson (7-3) allowed two runs and five hits as the American League Central-leading Tigers won for the seventh time in nine games. The Cubs lost their fourth in a row.
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