Wang Jing-yong's two-out, tie-breaking single off Chinatrust Whales reliever Nee Fu-deh in the top of the 10th scored the winning run for the Brother Elephants as they beat the Whales 5-4 in Sinjhuang on Thursday evening to snap a three-game losing streak.
Brother closer Chuang Pei-chuan cost fellow starter Nick Bierbrodt a big win by blowing his second save of the season as he allowed the Whales to score the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth when Chen Jie-wei drew a leadoff walk off Bierbrodt. Chen then took second on the ensuing walk by Elephants reliever Wu Bao-shien before reaching home on Wang Hsin-min's opposite-field single off Chuang to make it 4-3 and knotting things up at 4-all on Huang Kwei-yu's sacrifice-fly.
Chuang would go on to earn his first win of the year thanks to Wang's clutch single that delivered the game-winner in extra innings.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The game began with the Elephants wasting no time against Whales starter Shen Yu-jeh by taking the lefty deep with Chen Rei-cheng's two-run homer in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead before ringing up three singles in the second to make it 3-0.
Down by three, the Whales would get two of the three runs back in the third on Chen Jien-wei's two-run double off Bierbrodt to make it 3-2 after three innings of play.
The score remained 3-2 over the three innings until the Elephants were handed their fourth run of the game when the Elephants' Huang Cheng-wei drew a one-out walk off Whales reliever Liu Yu-chan, stole second, and reached third on a wild pitch by Liu before being waived home on a grounder by Liu Gheng-hsin in a 4-2 game.
Bierbrodt pitched brilliantly for the Elephants with eight-plus innings of three-run ball on four hits and a season-high 13 strikeouts. Had it not been for his bullpen's late-game collapse, the American southpaw would have easily won his second game of the year.
Taking the loss for the Whales was Nee, who was brought in with minimal warm-up in an attempt to pitch his club out of a jam. He is now 1-4 for the year.
Bulls 8, Cobras 6
Five deadly errors by a sloppy Macoto Cobras that resulted in six unearned runs for the Sinon Bulls lifted the Bulls past the serpents in a wild 8-6 win at Chiayi on Thursday night.
The loss by the self-destructing Cobras nipped a three-game winning streak for the league-leaders as they missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead over the second-placed La New Bears who now only trail the Cobras by a half-game in the latest standings.
"Anytime you commit five errors in the game, you know you are in for a long night," Cobras manager Wu Fu-lien said after the game.
His crew had been playing fundamentally sound baseball for the most part in the early going this year before Thursday's forgettable outing.
Offensively for the victorious Bulls, outfielder Yu Hsien-ming was a homer shy of hitting for the cycle with an infield single in the first, a double in the second and a rare triple in the eighth.
Picking up the win for the Bulls was Iba Tomokazu of Japan, who allowed four runs (only one earned) on ten hits over six innings for his league-best third win of the season.
Compared to Iba, Cobras starter Kim Jebin of South Korea was not nearly as fortunate as his defense dug a five-run hole through the first four innings for him, a deficit proved too much to overcome.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Travis Hafner hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning as the Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Thursday, sending Cleveland back to Jacobs Field with a victory in its homestand away from home.
Orioles 2, Royals 1
At Baltimore, Jay Gibbons, who fouled out with two runners on base in the eighth, lined an opposite-field single to left with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th off Jason Standridge (0-1).
Tigers 5, Blue Jays 4
At Toronto, Brandon Inge homered and drove in three runs, and Mike Maroth (2-0) limited Toronto to two runs and nine hits in six innings as Detroit won for the fifth time in six games.
Twins 3, Devil Rays 2
At Minneapolis, Justin Morneau homered off Brian Stokes (0-2) leading off the bottom of the ninth to give Minnesota the win.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Ronnie Belliard hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning off John Smoltz, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Thursday night to stop a six-game losing streak.
Ryan Zimmerman also hit an RBI single for the Nationals (2-8), who had never before led a game this year at the time a pitch was thrown. Their only previous win was on April 4, when Dmitri Young hit a game-ending single that capped a three-run ninth inning in a 7-6 victory over visiting Florida.
Mets 5, Phillies 3
At New York, Tom Glavine (2-1) beat Jamie Moyer (1-1) in the oldest matchup of left-handed starters in major league history, getting his 292nd win.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just