Kenny Rayborn tossed seven innings of two-run ball and Liu Yu-cheng drove in a pair of runs on a 2-for-4 night as the Uni-President Lions scored six unanswered runs to beat the Sinon Bulls 8-2 at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium on Sunday to win the weekend series 2-1.
The showdown between the Bulls’ rookie sensation Lin Keh-chien and the Lions’ Rayborn saw the veteran American righty outpitch his counterpart through the sixth as Rayborn took a 2-0 shutout into the seventh before giving up a pair of runs to allow the visiting Bulls back into the game.
Fortunately for Rayborn, the Lions offense broke the tie with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, courtesy of Liu’s two-run double down the third-base line. This put Rayborn in position for the win before blowing the game wide open in the eighth with a four-run spurt to clinch the series finale for the hosts.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Failure to maintain his intensity cost Lin the game. The rookie hurler was unable to keep his team in the game after the offense had rallied from two down to tie the game in the seventh by surrendering the go-ahead runs after picking up two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh.
“A couple of bad pitches is all it took to lose the game against a good team like them,” Lin said after the game.
The Lions hitters jumped all over a pair of sliders he mislocated for back-to-back doubles that scored the go-ahead runs.
Poor hitting with runners in scoring position also made it difficult for the Bulls to win in a game in which they actually outhit the Lions 9-to-7 as they batted a futile 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Elephants 1 Bears 2
RBI singles by Tsai Jien-wei and Chen Chin-fong gave the La New Bears a 2-0 lead in the fourth as they held off a late rally by the Brother Elephants at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Sunday.
The win not only avenged the Bears’ tough loss to the Elephants the night before, but also gave them a 2-1 edge in the three-game set between the two clubs.
Bears starter Huang Hong-ren won for the first time in nearly two months, allowing no runs on four hits while fanning four over 5-1/3 innings of work. His bullpen nearly squandered the two-run lead when Lee Fong-hua was charged with a run in the eighth that made it 2-1 before closer Hsu Ming-jeh saved the day by retiring the final four Elephants batters he faced to seal the win.
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
RSS