In the battle for first place in Group A at the Baseball World Cup, the USA bats proved too strong for Taiwan.
Lin Ying-chieh, Taiwan's starting pitcher, pitched well through three innings, but the USA batters roughed him up in the fourth. Evan Longoria, Delwyn Young and Justin Ruggiano hit three doubles in a row off Lin, bringing home Longoria and Young and giving the USA a 3-1 advantage.
Taiwan managed to tie the score up in the fourth after an RBI triple by Chang Tai-shan and a sacrifice fly by Hsieh Chia-hsien.
PHOTO: Sam Yeh, AFP
In the fifth the USA scored three more runs but Taiwan fought back again, responding with a full-count, bases-loaded double by Hsieh in the bottom of the sixth. But from there the USA side proved too strong.
In the seventh Ruggiano hit a three-run home run of Shen Yu-chieh, bringing home Longoria and Young.
Taiwan had a chance to come back again in the eighth when Chang hit a two-out grounder that dribbled through the second baseman's feet and Hsieh hit a fly ball to left field that managed to find a hole between a pair of confused-looking USA outfielders. But Taiwan was not able to capitalize on the mistakes and came out of the inning without having scored a run.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The USA added an insurance run in the top of the ninth off a solo home run by Ruggiano.
Down 10-6 in the ninth Taiwan managed to load the bases, but they could only bring home one run.
Japan came third in Group A on the head-to-head rule after a close 4-3 win over Spain, while fourth place went to Panama after they beat winless South Africa 13-3 and finished with the same number of wins as Mexico, who beat Italy 11-2. But Panama advanced based on the head-to-head rule.
In Group B, Cuba was hit by a 2-1 upset -- its first loss of the tournament -- to a gritty Netherlands side, which secured third place thanks to their great result. But Cuba stayed on top of the group despite Australia just beating Canada 7-6, courtesy of the head-to-head rule. Canada cruelly finished fifth after South Korea put paid to Germany's unhappy tournament with an 8-1 victory and advanced on the head-to-head rule. Thailand lost all seven of its games, the final nail in the coffin being a 17-3 drubbing by sixth-placed Venezuela.
Tomorrow
Quarter-finals
12pm
Australia v Japan (Sinjhuang, Taipei County)
TAIWAN v Netherlands (Tianmu, Taipei City)
6pm
USA v South Korea (Sinjhuang)
Cuba v Panama (Tianmu)
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said