CPBLRiding the right arm of Pan "Du Du" Wei-luen, the President Lions cruised past the Sinon Bulls 8-1 in Tainan Saturday to extend their winning streak in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League to a recording-breaking 13 games.
The right-hander out of the Fu Jen Catholic University took a three-hit shutout two outs into the eighth before surrendering a solo homer to Bulls outfielder Chang Jein-ming on a change-up that landed in the left-center bleachers.
Pan managed to shake off the late-game jitter and finish out strong by retiring four of the next five hitters for his third complete game of the year as he improved to a 6-2 mark.
In front of a home crowd of over 4,000, the Lions took advantage of a wild Alfredo Gonzalez in a 61-pitch third that had the Bulls starter walking four on top of allowing a single, a double and a bases clearing three-run triple by third baseman Shih Jin-dien for a 4-0 lead. After Chang's solo blast made it 4-1 in the top of the eighth, the home cats added four more runs with two singles, a double and another triple off two different Bulls relievers.
Offensively for the Lions, six of their 10 hits went for extra bases -- a rare phenomenon for a team not known for its power.
The win kept the Lions on pace with the league-leading La New Bears who won on Thursday and Friday for a half-game lead over the Lions with six games remaining in the first half.
Taking the loss for the Bulls was Gonzalez who fell to 7-5.
Whales 4, Cobras 6
A 4-for-8 batting with men in scoring position propelled the Cobras Cobras to a 6-4 win over the Chinatrust Whales in Luodong Saturday, snapping their four-game losing skid.
Outhit by the Whales 10-7, the Cobras made every hit count.
Veteran catcher Wu Jau-hui's two-run single capped a four-run third inning that put the Cobras up 6-1 in a game they never trailed.
Even though the Whales made it interesting by plating three runs in the top of the sixth on four straight singles off Cobras starter Chen Jia-hong and a base hit against reliever Lee Ming-jin to make 6-4, the Cobras were able to stop any further damage with Lee retiring the last six batters he faced.
Felix Villegas of Puerto Rico pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the win for Chen for the rookie righty's first career victory.
Whales starter Kao Jien-san (2-4) was tagged with the loss for allowing all six of the Cobras runs over the first three innings on five hits and three walks. Kao has not won a game since early-April.
Major Leagues
Daryle Ward scored the go-ahead run on Jose Guillen's eighth-inning triple and the Washington Nationals overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the New York Yankees 11-9 in interleague play Saturday.
The Nationals trailed 9-2 after the Yankees' seven-run fifth inning, which included Johnny Damon's second grand slam of the year. But four runs in the fifth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth made New York blow a seven-run lead for the first time since 2002.
Mariano Rivera (4-4), who entered the game with one out and one on in the eighth, took the loss. The tying run scored when Alfonso Soriano stole second and third, with a wayward throw to third by catcher Jorge Posada allowing Soriano to come home.
Ward, who entered the game in the third inning for Nick Johnson (strained back), then walked. Guillen followed with a triple to right center, and Ward -- known more for his hitting than his speed -- legged his way home well ahead of the throw.
The Nationals ended a five-game losing streak.
Jon Rauch (2-1) pitched the eighth inning for the win, and Chad Cordero pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
Red Sox 5, Braves 3
At Atlanta, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis each hit solo home runs to power Boston over struggling Atlanta.
Boston starter Josh Beckett (8-3) went six innings, allowing three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. He also had an RBI single in the fourth, helping send the Braves to their season-high sixth straight loss. Jonathan Papelbon worked a perfect ninth inning for his 22nd save in 23 chances.
Atlanta, which has won a record 14 straight division titles, lost for the 16th time in 19 games and fell to 30-39.
Youkilis homered to lead off the game, and Ortiz had an RBI double in a two-run third off Braves starter Lance Courmier (2-2). Ortiz, who scored on Trot Nixon's single, added his 19th homer and American League-leading 59th RBI to start the fifth off Mike Remlinger, giving the Red Sox a 5-1 lead.
Mariners 8, Giants 1
At Seattle, Richie Sexson and Raul Ibanez each homered and Seattle's Gil Meche held Barry Bonds without a home run.
Bonds had a seventh-inning double after grounding out and lining out against Meche (7-4), who tossed his first complete game since a 2-0 win over Boston on Sept. 12, 2004.
San Francisco's Jason Schmidt (6-3) had his first subpar start in nearly two months, allowing a season-high six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings.
Tigers 9, Cubs 3
At Chicago, Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco had three hits apiece to lead Detroit to its eighth victory in 10 games.
Guillen had three RBIs with two-run homer in the first and a run-scoring double in the ninth. Polanco scored three runs and drove in one, and Ordonez had a double, two RBIs and scored twice.
Justin Verlander (8-4) allowed nine hits but just one run in 5 2-3 innings.
The Tigers struck early against rookie Carlos Marmol (1-1). Curtis Granderson led off the game with a triple to the right-field corner, drawing a boisterous "Let's go Tigers!" chant from the visiting fans. He scored on Polanco's single to center. With two out, Guillen drilled a 1-0 pitch to the seats in right for his eighth homer and a 3-0 lead.
Marlins 8, Blue Jays 2
At Miami, Brian Moehler pitched seven strong innings and Florida won its seventh straight game.
Moehler (5-5) allowed two runs and five hits while striking out four for his fifth win in six decisions.
The Marlins, winners of 17 of their last 23, are on their longest winning streak since a nine-game run in August-September 2004.
Casey Janssen (5-5) had his worst performance in 11 starts this season. He allowed seven runs and 11 hits in just three-plus innings for Toronto.
Mike Jacobs hit a two-run homer for Florida.
White Sox 8, Reds 6
At Cincinnati, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips made a costly throwing error in Chicago's three-run ninth inning, and the White Sox rallied to preserve Jose Contreras' unbeaten streak.
Contreras struck out a career-high 13 batters, but was looking at the end of his 15-game regular-season winning streak when he left trailing 5-3 in the sixth.
But Juan Uribe hit a solo homer off Cincinnati reliever Chris Hammond in the eighth to tie it at 5 and leave Contreras with a no-decision which preserved his streak.
Matt Thornton (2-1) got the win and Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 21 chances.
Todd Coffey (3-1) took the loss.
Orioles 4, Mets 2
At New York, Kris Benson celebrated his return to Shea Stadium with his first career home run and pitched eight effective innings for Baltimore.
Benson (8-5) connected against Mets starter Pedro Martinez (6-3) in the third inning for the first homer by a Baltimore pitcher since Roric Harrison in 1972, the year before the designated hitter rule was adopted by the American League.
Traded by the Mets to the Orioles last January, Benson allowed six hits and recovered from a shaky start to pitch Baltimore to its second straight victory over New York. Chris Ray pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 18 chances.
Cardinals 6, Rockies 5
At St. Louis, Jeff Suppan pitched into the eighth inning for his 100th career victory and Juan Encarnacion homered twice as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5.
Aaron Miles added a two-run double for the Cardinals, who have won five of six and beat the Rockies for the fourth time in five games this season.
Suppan (6-4) allowed two runs on five hits in 7 2-3 innings, including Matt Holliday's team-leading 14th homer in the second. Garrett Atkins' three-run homer with two outs in the eighth off Josh Hancock cut the deficit to two.
Jason Isringhausen gave up a solo homer to pinch-hitter J.D. Closser in the ninth before finishing up for his 23rd save in 27 chances.
Encarnacion hit a two-run homer off Jeff Francis (5-6) in the first and led off the fourth with his 10th homer, giving him his third career multihomer game and first since Sept. 24, 2002. Encarnacion also doubled in the eighth.
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