The Uni-President Lions continued their winning ways with a convincing 8-2 victory over the La New Bears on the road in Kaohsiung on Friday night to extend their streak to four in a row.
Starter Chris Gissell of the US took a 4-0 shutout two outs into the seventh before surrendering a run on three straight singles to end his night. He allowed at least a runner on in all but two of the innings he pitched, but managed to get out of trouble on each occasion until the Bears finally broke through.
Leading the Lions attack — which had averaged an astonishing 11 runs per game during their four-game winning streak — were Pan Wu-hsiung and Chen Lien-hong, whose combined 5-for-11 hitting with four RBIs accounted for half of the Lions’ total run production.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Also starring for the defending champs was outfielder Yang Song-hsuen, whose several fine defensive plays stole at least a run from the Bears.
After scoring in the seventh to avoid the shutout, the Bears managed to plate another run in the eighth on a solo homer by Nate Gold. That was as close as they got as they dropped their fourth game in six against their archrivals from Tainan.
Gissell picked up his third win of the season, allowing a run on nine hits over six-and-two-third innings to beat his counterpart Hsu Wen-hsiung, who is winless in his last 12 starts against the Lions and sports a dismal 0-8 record in those games.
BULLS 9, ELEPHANTS 2
Scoring early and often, the league-leading Sinon Bulls trounced the Brother Elephants at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Friday.
It was the ninth straight loss that the Elephants suffered since winning their 899th game in club history on April 10.
Four quick runs by the Bulls off Elephants starter Liu Yu-chan in the opening inning set the tone early and they tacked on five more over the next three frames for a commanding 9-0 lead.
That was more than ample for Sinon starter Lin Ying-jeh, who pitched a one-hit gem over seven shutout innings before his bullpen closed the deal.
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
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care