Christopher Lee Mason tossed nine innings of one-run ball and Lin Hong-yu drove in three runs in a three-for-four effort as the La New Bears defended their own turf with a convincing 9-1 win over the Brother Elephants at Chengcing Lake Baseball Field in Kaohsiung County yesterday afternoon.
It was the fourth straight win for the right-hander from the US, who pitched a complete game, improving to 4-1 for the season, while Lin raised his batting average to a league-best .349 by busting out for three hits and as many RBIs.
The win not only avoided what would have been an embarrassing three-game sweep by the last-place Elephants for the rambunctious Bears, who dropped both games in the day-night doubleheader on Saturday, but also nipped a three-game slide for them in the process.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The home team snapped a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning when Chen Yen-fong came through with a big two-out double off Elephants starter Jim Magrane that gave the Bears a 3-1 lead.
They would increase their advantage an inning later with four more runs that chased Magrane from the game, before sealing the deal with a pair of runs in the seventh to conclude all the scoring.
Other than the lone run that they managed against Mason in the top of the second, courtesy of Chang Chih-hao’s RBI-groundout that scored Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min from second, the game was all Bears as Mason scattered only five hits over nine sharp innings of work.
Both teams will have today off before the Bears pay a visit to the Uni-President Lions in Tainan tomorrow evening in a battle between the two powerhouses down south, while the Elephants will play host in Hsinchu to the Sinon Bulls on Wednesday night.
BULLS 12, LIONS 5
The Sinon Bulls also avoided being swept by the Uni-President Lions in their three-game series over the weekend with a 12-5 trouncing of the Cats at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium yesterday afternoon.
Sinon set a new club record for most runs in a single inning with eight during the second, pounding out five hits on top of four walks and an error against two Lions pitchers.
That was more than enough for starter Lin Chi-wei, who cruised through five innings unharmed, before surrendering an unearned run in the sixth for his league-leading fourth win of the season.
Trailing 12-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Lions mustered four meaningless runs off Sinon reliever Lindsay Gulin to make the final score more respectable, but it was too little, too late for the defending champions as they lost by seven runs to drop to 11-14.
Lions starter Chen Yi-huan was charged with the loss for allowing six runs on five hits and two walks. He was pulled after failing to record an out against eight straight Sinon hitters in the second in a rather forgettable outing.
Also See: Rays sting Blue Jays in eighth inning
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