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Bulls spank Lions

CPBL

The winners all won big in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League on Sunday with the Sinon Bulls shutting out the President Lions by 10-0 and the Chinatrust Whales cruising past Macoto Cobras in a 9-2 thrashing.

The Bulls won both games last week for a clean series sweep against the Lions in Taichung by jumping all over Lions starter Tsao Jung-yang with four first-inning runs, courtesy of outfielder Tseng Hua-wei's one-run single and first baseman Hsu Guo-long's towering three-run homer over the centerfield wall, before piling on three more runs by the end of the third, and three more in the fifth to wrap up the blowout victory in grand style.

Four different Bulls had multi-hit games on the night as they rang up 14 hits off an overwhelmed Lions staff with shortstop Chang "Red Monkey" Jia-hao leading the way with a single, a double, and a triple in the game, one homer shy of batting for the cycle.

Spotted with a quick 7-0 cushion after three innings of play, Sinon starter Yang Jien-fu had little trouble against a slumping Lions lineup that managed only seven scattered singles in as many innings for his seventh win of the season.

The opening day hurler for the defending champs also fanned three and walked none in his best outing of the year by far.

Taking the loss for the visiting cats was Tsao, who lasted two-plus innings before being pulled in the third for allowing six runs (all earned) on as many hits, including Hsu's three-run blast, for his third defeat of the year.

The regular setup man for the Lions failed to end his club's recent slide in a rare start as the Lions suffered their fourth straight loss since winning a record-breaking 17 in a row to remain winless (0-2) for the second half.

Whales 9 Cobras 2

The Whales avenged their 9-1 loss to the Cobras on Saturday with a 9-2 skinning of the serpents in Hualien on Sunday to salvage a 1-1 series split with the Cobras.

Chinatrust wasted no time in showing their vendetta by striking first in the bottom of the first on American slugger Mike Lockwood's sacrifice fly off Macoto starter Chang Hsien-chih that scored leadoff man Cheng Chang-ming who led off the inning with a rocketing double to deep-left.

The Whales would add to their lead by a pair in the bottom when outfielder Huang Kwei-yu knocked in their second run of the game with an RBI single to shallow-left before catcher Shih Jin-sho's sacrifice fly scored another run to make it 3-0 in favor of the marine creatures.

After a scoreless third, the Whales attack resumed its atrocious form with four more runs in the fourth for a commanding 7-0 lead that sent ten batters to the plate, highlighted by Huang's monstrous solo home run off Chang and Shih and Lockwood also tacking on an RBI each with a clean double and an opposite-field single, respectively.

The score would read 9-0 after the fifth until the Cobras finally got on the board in the seventh with two meaningless runs off Whales starter Alexander Herrera that broke up the Venezuelan lefty's bid for a shutout win. He ended up going seven innings on five hits for his first win of the year, while fanning six and walking five.

Dropping his third straight start was Chang, who allowed a season-high of seven runs (all earned) on eight hits in less than four innings of work. It was the worst outing of the year for the rookie right-hander by far, after he had started the season with a surprising 4-1 record.

Interleague
AP, MINNEAPOLIS

Francisco Liriano struck out a career-high 12 in eight innings and Justin Morneau homered in the Minnesota Twins' 8-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in interleague play on Sunday.

Liriano (9-1) allowed just three hits and won his fifth straight start for the streaking Twins, who have won 10 straight and 20 of their last 22 in their longest winning streak since 1985.

Rookie Zach Jackson (1-1) gave up eight runs -- seven earned -- and walked three in five innings for Milwaukee.

Morneau's solo homer in the fifth -- his 21st of the season -- rattled a suite in right field.

In other interleague games it was

* Red Sox 4, Marlins 3
* Braves 10, Orioles 3
* Washington 6, Tampa Bay 2
* Phillies 11, Blue Jays 6
* Indians 6, Reds 3
* Tigers 9, Pirates 8
* St. Louis 9, Kansas City 7
* Cubs 15, White Sox 11
* Angels 4, Dodgers 0
* Colorado 4, Seattle 3, 11 innings
* Diamondbacks 3, Athletics 1
* San Francisco 6, San Diego 2
* Yankees 16, Mets 7
* Astros 9, Rangers 5
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