Regaining his free-swinging form, Chen “Golden Warrior” Chih-yuan tied a league mark for most hits in a single game with five to lead his team past the dmedia T-Rex in a 13-4 rout at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu on Sunday.
The win not only gave the Elephants a clean sweep in the two-game series against T-Rex, but also put them back in the No. 3 spot in the standings.
Chen Chih-yuan was not the only Elephants hitter hot on the night, as fellow sluggers Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min and Chen Guan-ren also connected for three and four hits respectively to give the heart of the Elephants order an incredible 12-for-16 record at the expense of the battered T-Rex pitchers.
Rookie leadoff man Wang Sheng-wei also had a huge day at the plate, with three hits to raise his average to a solid .317.
The contest began with the Elephants wasting little time getting to T-Rex starter Lin Jing-min, with a pair of runs in the opening inning on a two-run single by Chia Chia for a quick 2-0 lead.
The Elephants would add on five more runs in the third, courtesy of a wild Lin who issued two run-scoring walks with the bases loaded and served up an RBI-single to Chia Chia, before the T-Rex finally answered with two runs of their own to trail 2-7.
That was as close as they got as the Elephants put up six more runs for the blowout win.
Bears 9, Bulls 3
Mike Johnson became the league’s first five-game winner on Sunday with eight innings of three-run ball for the La New Bears in a 9-3 win over the Sinon Bulls in Taichung.
He took a 9-0 shutout two outs into the eighth, before giving up four straight hits for three late-game runs to lose his shutout bid. He would end up with three allowed runs on a dozen hits, five of which came in a meaningless eighth.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put