CPBLExploding with 17 runs and 22 hits against a generous Chinatrust Whales pitching staff, the La New Bears cruised to a 17-6 victory over the Whales in Sinjhuang on Thursday night to extend their winning streak to four in a row.
It was the second straight game in which the league leaders had scored in double-digits, upping their run total in this week's two games to a whopping 29 against a Whales team that had swept the Brother Elephants in their four-game series last week, including two shutouts.
The Bears blew a narrow 2-1 lead wide open with eight runs in the top of the third where they sent 13 batters to the plate against two different Whales pitchers to pound out seven hits, while drawing a pair of walks.
PHOTO: AP
They would connect for three more runs by the end of the sixth inning to claim a commanding 13-1 advantage before the Whales jumped on reserve reliever Hsu Chih-chang for four meaningless runs in seventh in the eventual rout.
Five different Bears batters enjoyed multi-RBI and multi-hit games on the night, led by outfielder Huang Long-yi's 3-for-6 effort with four RBIs.
Former major leaguer Chen Chin-fong also added to his league-leading RBI total of 61 by three to open a 15-RBI lead over the fellow teammate Lin Chih-sheng and Sinon Bulls great Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan, with 49 RBIs apiece.
Lefty ace Wu Si-yo breezed through five frames on 73 pitches in a three-hit gem for his 13th win of the season, beating Whales starter Du Chang-wei, who was pulled after loading up the bases with no outs in third in his fifth setback of the year.
Lions 4, Cobras 0
Riding the left arm of American starter Jerome Robertson, the President Lions blanked the Macoto Cobras in a 4-0 shutout at Tainan on Thursday night to avenge Tuesday's tough 4-3 loss in their series-opener.
Chiou Chang-rong's second-inning double off Robertson turned out to be the only base hit that the southpaw out of the University of Washington yielded over eight magnificent innings of work, stretching his number of innings without allowing a run to 21-and-counting.
The only run that Robertson has allowed during his past 24 innings of start over a three-game span was a third-inning run to the Whales in their August 5th contest.
Since then, Robertson has won three in a row to account for all of the Lions' wins in the month of August thus far.
For the third straight start, Macoto standout Lin "Little Chick" En-yu has allowed three or fewer earned runs in six or more innings of work, all resulting in losses as a lack of run support (the Cobras offense scored just one lone run in those three losses) easily costing him all three very winnable games.
Lin saw his earned run average dropped to a miniscule 1.86, good enough for second-best in the league while his five strikeouts in the game further padded his league-best total of 152 to 157, nearly 50 percent more than the next best pitcher.
Doing the damage offensively for the Lions were first baseman Kao Guo-ching and catcher Kao Chih-kang, whose combined 4-for-6 batting with three RBIs represented the bulk of the Lions' run production.
American League
AP, BOSTON
Derek Jeter hit a bases-clearing double in New York's seven-run seventh inning as the Yankees rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 14-11 and complete a sweep of Friday's day-night doubleheader.
Johnny Damon had six of New York's 34 hits on the day, including a pair of two-run homers. Bobby Abreu had four hits to lead the Yankees to a 12-4 victory in the early game, then added two more in the sequel as the Yankees opened a season-high 3 1/2-game lead in the American League East.
The night game, at 4 hours, 45 minutes, was the longest nine-inning game in major league history, surpassing the 4:27 it took the Dodgers and Giants to play on Oct. 5, 2001. And that was on top of a 3:55 day game.
David Ortiz hit his major league-leading 43rd homer in the ninth against Mariano Rivera. Alex Rodriguez then botched Manny Ramirez's grounder to third for his 22nd error, tied for the major league lead.
Wang Chien-ming (14-5) won the opener over Jason Johnson (3-12), who lost his eighth straight decision.
Royals 7, Athletics 1 Royals 5, Athletics 3
At Kansas City, Missouri, Mike Sweeney hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Huston Street (4-4) in a four-run eighth as Kansas City completed a doubleheader sweep.
Luke Hudson (6-4) combined with Jimmy Gobble and Joel Peralta on a six-hitter in the opener, and Jorge De La Rosa, Ambiorix Burgos (3-5) and Joe Nelson teamed on a three-hitter in the second game, with Nelson getting his second save.
Angels 3, Mariners 0
At Anaheim, California, Jered Weaver (9-0) joined Whitey Ford as the only rookies in AL history to win their first nine decisions, holding Seattle to three singles over seven innings.
Rangers 2, Tigers 1
At Detroit, Kevin Millwood (12-8) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings to win his second straight start after going 0-3 in his previous four.
Mark Teixeira hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth against Zach Miner (7-4), who has won only one of his last seven starts after winning six straight.
Orioles 7, Blue Jays 2
At Baltimore, Kris Benson (10-9) gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings for his first win since June 28, and Melvin Mora went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs.
Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada also had three hits for the Orioles, who took a 6-0 lead against Scott Downs (6-2) in the second inning. Baltimore have won three straight following a five-game skid.
Devil Rays 6, Indians 5
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Carl Crawford hit a two-run single off Jason Davis that capped a three-run ninth as Tampa Bay rallied from a 5-1 deficit.
Twins 7, White Sox 3
At Minneapolis, Torii Hunter homered for the first time in 62 at-bats since July 31, putting the Twins ahead 4-3 in the sixth against Freddy Garcia (11-8).
National League
Preston Wilson was a smash in his first game with St. Louis, hitting one of the Cardinals' six home runs in an 11-3 romp over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Nationals 6, Phillies 4
At Philadelphia, Alfonso Soriano hit a leadoff homer and Ryan Zimmerman went deep and drove in a career-best five runs for Washington.
Mets 6, Rockies 3
At New York, David Wright broke out of a slump with a pair of run-scoring hits and Steve Trachsel won his fourth straight start for New York.
Pirates 7, Reds 3
At Cincinnati, Xavier Nady hit his first homer for Pittsburgh, a three-run homer that led Ian Snell and Pittsburgh to a win over Cincinnati.
Braves 6, Marlins 1
At Miami, Tim Hudson pitched 7 2-3 innings for Atlanta, departing after an injury to plate umpire Jerry Layne caused a 13-minute delay.
Brewers 3, Astros 2
At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder singled home the winning run in the ninth inning to lift Milwaukee over Houston.
Padres 8, Diamondbacks 2
At San Diego, Woody Williams won his second straight start and Dave Roberts had three RBIs to help San Diego beat Arizona and stop a four-game losing streak.
Giants 7, Dodgers 3
At San Francisco, Omar Vizquel and Shea Hillenbrand each hit two-run homers to help Jason Schmidt win his third straight decision for San Francisco.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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