Some thought the day would never come, with the way that the President Lions mowed through their opponents by an average scoring margin of 6.1 to 1.7 runs per game during their record-shattering 17-game winning streak over that past 35 days. But it did. And it was the Macoto Cobras who had the honor of beating the cats in their own game with a stellar effort from ace righty Lin "Little Chick" En-yu in a 5-3 final at Sinjhuang Saturday.
The Chinese Professional Baseball League's Most Valuable Player last season and current strikeout leader (103 strikeouts in 102 innings) showed why he is at the top of his game with seven brilliant innings of one-run ball on three scattered singles to lead the serpents past the Lions.
After plating a first-inning run off Lions lefty Bill Pulsipher of the US for a quick 1-0 lead on the strength of Australian slugger Thomas Brice's RBI single, the Cobras erupted for three more runs against the former major leaguer on a solo homer by Hsieh "The Ugly" Jia-shien and team captain Chiou Chang-rong's two-run blast in what turned out to be the game-deciding third.
The serpents added another run in the seventh that chased Pulsipher to claim a 5-1 advantage.
The Lions did not lose the game without giving it their all as they rallied for two runs off Cobras reliever Lee Ming-jin in the top of the ninth inning with back-to-back doubles by Chen Jia-wei and Kuo Dai-chi and a run-scoring triple from Kao Chih-kang to cut the once-comfortable, 5-1 Cobras lead to 5-3 with a runner on third and the tying at the plate. Kuo was then tagged out at third for the second out of the ninth after an infield single by Chen Lien-hong.
But rookie pitcher Chang Hsien-chih was able to retire the final Lions batter on a routine fly ball to secure the win.
Two of the five runs allowed by Pulsipher were unearned as he took the tough loss against Lin, who improved to 8-4 for the year.
The loss by the Lions set them back in a big way against the La New Bears in the hunt for the first-half title as they are now forced to beat the Chinatrust Whales tomorrow in their final game of the first half and hope for a tie or a loss by the Bears to the Cobras on Wednesday to win the first-half title.
Major Leagues
David Ortiz hit his seventh career walkoff homer after Jonathan Papelbon pitched 2 1-3 innings of clutch relief and the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in 10 innings Saturday.
With one out and Alex Cora on first with a single, Ortiz hit a 2-2 pitch from Tom Gordon (2-3) into the center-field bleachers and his teammates poured out of the dugout. Papelbon waved a towel over his head at home plate as the excited players awaited Ortiz's arrival.
Boston won its season-high eighth straight game as Ortiz produced a win this month for the second time on the last at-bat of the game. He also did it in the opener of a doubleheader against Texas on June 11.
Brett Myers started and went five innings for Philadelphia, one day after being arrested and charged with hitting his wife in the face on a street near Fenway Park just after midnight. He was freed after his wife posted US$200 bail and faces a court date of Aug. 4.
Papelbon (2-1) got the Red Sox out of two big jams and matched his longest outing of the year.
White Sox 6, Astros 5, 10 innings
In Chicago, Joe Crede tied the game with a seventh-inning grand slam and Alex Cintron singled home the winning run with the bases loaded in the 10th as the surging White Sox won their ninth straight victory.
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