Hsu Guo-long’s base-clearing three-run double set the stage for a six-run ninth as the Sinon Bulls overcame a four-run deficit late in the game to top the Brother Elephants 6-4 at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Thursday night.
Down by four runs heading into the top of the ninth with Brother starter Mike Smith on top of his game in a one-hit shutout bid, the Bulls managed to plate their first run of the contest when Chen Chih-wei led off the inning with a double, scoring later on an RBI single by Chang Tai-shan.
Smith walked the ensuing hitter Hsieh Jia-shien, cutting the American righty’s night short. The Bulls jumped all over reliever Mai Jia-rei by pounding the second-year hurler with another RBI single before drawing a walk to load up the bases for Hsu’s game-turning swing.
The late-inning collapse negated what had been an outstanding performance by Smith, who cruised through the eighth in one-hit beauty before Mai squandered away what would have been Smith’s eighth win of the year by blowing a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth.
Picking up the surprise win was Sinon reliever Tsai Ming-jin who threw 2-1/3 hitless innings in relief of starter Yang Jien-fu for his second victory of the year, while the loss went to Mai who failed to convert a save opportunity for the second straight game.
Lions 10, Bears 5
The Uni-President Lions doubled up the La New Bears with an impressive 10-5 road win at the Kaohsiung County Baseball Stadium on Thursday to keep their second-half title hopes alive as they trailed the top-ranked Elephants by 4-1/2 games with eight games remaining in the second half of the season.
Having won the first-half title, the defending champs would enjoy a first-round bye as well as an automatic one-game lead in the upcoming Taiwan Series if they surpass the Elephants to win the second half outright.
They definitely played with the intent to run the table on Thursday by erupting for five runs in the third on the strength of five singles, a double and an error by the La New defense to grab an early 5-1 lead.
The cats would double their offensive output by the sixth with four more runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth by teeing off against Bears reliever Chang Chih-jia on five consecutive singles to chase the veteran right-hander before roughing up his replacement Hsu Wen-hsiung over the next two innings.
Down 1-10, the home Bears would score the next four runs to make the score more respectable.
Lions starter Luther Hackman would have easily picked up his fourth win of the year had he not gotten ejected by the home plate umpire for arguing a call. The win went to reliever Tsai Shih-chin.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two