The Uni-President Lions homered three times in what turned out to be a six-run fifth to overcome a two-run deficit in a 7-4 win over the dmedia T-Rex in Tienmu on Sunday, sweeping the two-game weekend series in convincing fashion.
Down 1-3 after four innings of play, Chen Lien-hong got things moving in the right direction for the cats with a monstrous three-run shot off demedia starter Chiang Bo-ching before Liu Fu-hao followed with a two-run blast that made it 6-3.
Chuang Jing-heh added the Lions final run in the inning with a rare inside-the-park home run when he simply outran the relay throw from the outfield after the dmedia centerfield fell in pursuit of the ball to give Chuang some extra time on the play.
The T-Rex would get a run back in the bottom of the same inning on an RBI-single by Kao Wei, but that was as close as they got with the Lions bullpen taking control of the game from the sixth on with four innings of scoreless relief to silence the dmedia bats.
The win earned a first-round bye for the Lions in the upcoming postseason play as they gained a four-game lead over the second-place La New Bears in the season’s overall record with three games remaining to guarantee them the best regular-season mark.
ELEPHANTS 1, BULLS 0
Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min’s clutch single with runners at the corners in the top of the fourth was difference in the game as the Brother Elephants blanked the Sinon Bulls 1-0 in Sinjhuang on Sunday to sweep their two-game series against the Bulls.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
Mikel Merino on Sunday scored a hat-trick as a majestic Spain thumped Turkey 6-0 away in World Cup qualifying, while a brilliant Florian Wirtz free-kick helped Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 to get their bid up and running. European champions Spain were in unstoppable form in the central Turkish city of Konya, claiming their second biggest-ever away win in World Cup qualifying as Arsenal midfielder Merino scored his first professional hat-trick. Barcelona playmaker Pedri Gonzalez opened the scoring inside six minutes and later completed the scoring, with Ferran Torres netting the visitors’ other goal. The quality of Merino’s strikes was remarkable, with his
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
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