Chen Guan-ren connected for four hits and Danny Core pitched six strong innings of two-run ball as the Brother Elephants stunned the La New Bears with an 8-2 victory at the Kaohsiung County Baseball Stadium on Tuesday to start the final week of regular-season play with a bang.
It was the sixth time this season in which the Brother slugger had gotten four hits in a game, giving him a total of 136 to lead the league.
“I guess the playoff-like ambiance has really pushed our game up a notch,” Chen said after the game, referring to the fact that they are to take on the Bears in the upcoming first-round postseason action.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Keeping the previously red-hot Bears lineup in check was Core, who worked six quick innings with two runs given up on six hits to earn his ninth victory of the year. His ability to hold the Bears offense to under four runs a game will be essential to their success in this postseason, as skipper Wang Guang-hui has just two other reliable starters — Kobayashi Ryokan and Liao Yu-cheng — to turn to on the Brother rotation.
Taking the fall in a rare home loss for the Bears was Hsu Wen-hsiung. The Bears’ 10-game winner fell victim to a costly error by shortstop Lin Chih-sheng that led to three unearned runs in the top of the first.
BULLS 1, LIONS 0
Tseng Hua-wei’s clutch single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth made all the difference as the Sinon Bulls blanked the Uni-President Lions 1-0 in Douliou on Tuesday to end a six-game losing skid.
The speedy outfielder, who is normally known for his flashy glove work on defense, untied a scoreless gridlock with one big swing to score the runner on second that gave the Bulls a rare 1-0 lead late in the game.
That was enough to make a winner out of Sinon rookie starter Lin Chi-wei, who went the distance on 138 pitches in a five-hit gem to pick up his first career complete-game shutout win.
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
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Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them. The New York Yankees starter on Sunday pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers’ top four hitters in a 7-3 win. “I feel like I’m in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,” Yarbrough said. “I’m having a lot of fun.” The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July
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