Tsai Tsong-yo’s two-out single with the bases loaded drove in the go-ahead runs in the top of the 12th as the La New Bears outlasted the Sinon Bulls 5-3 in a four-hour marathon at the Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium on Friday, ending a two-game slide.
Lin Chih-ping led off the inning with a single up the middle off Sinon reliever Shen Fu-ren, but was held at first as Shen struck out the next two batters and seemed well on his way to getting out of trouble.
Lin Chih-sheng, however, drew a walk off Shen to place runners on first and second before a wild pitch by Shen advanced the runner to third. The Bulls intentionally walked slugger Chen Chin-fong to load the bases, setting the stage for Tsai’s game-winning hit.
PHOTO: CHAN CHAO-YANG
Three consecutive base hits, all after two outs, plated three runs in the top of the third to spot Bears starter Aaron Rakers a quick 3-0 lead against Sinon’s Yu Wen-bin.
An error by a covering Rakers on what would have been an inning-ending out in the fourth, however, allowed two runs. The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the eighth, when Chang Tai-shan managed to hit a sacrifice-fly off Keng Bo-hsuen to tie the game up at 3-3.
The Bulls had a chance in the 11th when two batters were able to reach first safely via a single and a walk, but both were gunned down by Bears catcher Chen Fong-min at second on steal attempts.
Hsu Ming-jeh was credited with the win for tossing two-and-a-third innings of scoreless relief to beat his counterpart Shen, even though he gave up a pair of hits and walks in the process.
Elephants 3, Lions 0
Kobayashi Ryokan pitched six innings of shutout and Wang Sheng-wei drove in a run on a 1-for-3 effort as the Brother Elephants blanked the Uni-President Lions 3-0 at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Friday night.
The Japanese righty — who allowed a runner on in all but one of the six innings he pitched — was able to get out of trouble with several clutch strikeouts and nice plays by his defense. Setup man Matt Perisho and closer Ryan Cullen then combined for three scoreless innings.
The Lions made it interesting in the top of the ninth when Yang Dong-yi and Liu Yu-cheng singled off Cullen with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate, but the pitcher calmly struck out the next batter to pick up his 20th save of the year.
CPBL
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