Chen Guan-ren’s two-run single capped a four-run fifth that broke a 4-all tie to give the Brother Elephants the edge they needed to defeat the Sinon Bulls 9-6 at the Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win not only extended the Elephants’ winning streak to three in a row, but also padded their lead over the second-place Uni-President Lions to a second-half high of eight games as they head into the final stretch of a long season.
Chou Si-chi’s RBI single got things moving in the right direction for the visiting Elephants as they sent eight men to the plate against Sinon starter Lin Keh-chien to ring up four quick runs in the top of the first.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The Bulls answered in the bottom of the same inning with three runs off Elephants starter Lee Hao-ren and eventually tied it up in the third when Chang “Prince of the Forest” Tai-shan led off the inning with a double and scored two outs later on Cheng Jau-han’s lining single to right.
After the Elephants reclaimed their second four-run lead of the game in the fifth, the Bulls managed one more run in the sixth on Chen Chih-wei’s sacrifice fly, but that was as close as they got, with each club trading a run in the seventh to conclude the scoring.
Picking up the win was Lee, who improved to 3-1 for the year with four allowed runs (only one earned) on seven hits over five innings. He allowed a season-high five walks, but managed to beat his counterpart Lin, who lasted four-plus innings, giving up eight runs on seven hits and three walks to fall to 8-5 for the year.
LIONS 2, BEARS 1
The Uni-President Lions held off an all-out rally by the La New Bears in the ninth to escape with a narrow 2-1 victory in Tainan on Tuesday, jumpstarting the week of play on a high note.
Three different Lions pitchers held a potent Bears attack to three hits over eight scoreless innings before closer Lin Yueh-ping allowed back-to-back hits after two outs in the ninth to lose the shutout bid.
The late-game drama did not rattle Lin, however, as he regrouped in a hurry and retired the last Bears batter on a lazy grounder to second to end the game.
Newcomer Nerio Rodriguez was magnificent with a one-hit gem through the sixth, while relievers Lin Cheng-fong and Kao Jien-san did their part to keep the 2-0 shutout intact after eight innings of play.
Leading the attack for the home Cats was Jose Castillo, whose RBI single in the third proved to have made all the difference in the game.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up a brief visit to Brazil on Friday with a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but despite the defeat, the team outshone their divisional rivals in the fight for the hearts and minds of Brazilian fans. In Sao Paulo for just the second-ever NFL game in the city, Chiefs players — especially quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — were treated as major celebrities throughout their stay, turning Corinthians Arena into a scene reminiscent of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. Before kickoff, crowds of fans gathered around the Chiefs’ tunnel, eager to catch a
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
New Zealand stayed firm at their Eden Park fortress to claim an attritional 24-17 win over South Africa in a heavyweight clash between the world’s top two rugby sides yesterday. Under pressure after conceding a first-ever defeat on Argentine soil against the Pumas two weeks ago, the All Blacks responded with a performance of grit and discipline to stretch their unbeaten run at their Auckland stronghold to 51 matches. Two well-taken tries by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan set up a 14-3 lead at halftime before Quinn Tupaea grabbed a third five-pointer for the hosts 13 minutes from time. Well-held for most of
RSS