Clutch hitting on the part of the Brother Elephants, coupled with two devastating errors by the La New Bears defense, lifted the Elephants past the Bears in a 3-1 win at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night, giving the Elephants a clean sweep in the weekend series against their archrivals from Kaohsiung.
Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min’s two-out single after a fielding error by the Bears shortstop that allowed the runner to reach second put the Elephants ahead 1-0 in the top of the first, while an erroneous throw by the Bears second baseman scored the Elephants’ second run of the game in the third.
That was more than enough to give the men in the golden uniforms the win as starter Carlos Castillo cruised through to the eighth inning with a lone allowed run on six hits to improve to 7-2 for the year.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“It was a big win for us because it meant a clean sweep,” Elephants coach Chen Rei-chen said after the game.
Chen is in the process of guiding the Elephants back to prominence after the game-fixing scandal prior to the season that nearly dismantled his team.
Failure to come up with the timely hits ultimately cost the Bears the win as they batted a dismal one-for-10 with runners in scoring position, including two double-plays, in a game in which they outhit the Elephants by a 7-5 margin.
Tagged with the tough loss despite having gone seven strong innings was Bears starter Ken Ray, who gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits as he fell back to an even 4-4 record for the season.
Lions 4, Bulls 3
Miscues by the defense also played a key role in the contest between the Sinon Bulls and the Uni-President Lions at the Douliou County Baseball Stadium last night in a come-from-behind win in extra innings for the Cats.
Shortstop Yang Dong-yi’s high throw to first with the bases loaded and two outs was off target, allowing the runner on third to score the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th in a dramatic finish for the Lions.
The play capped a two-run rally for the Lions after they had allowed a go-ahead to the Bulls in the top of the 10th on a fly-ball to shallow-left by Hsu Guo-long that was ruled a single to break a 2-2 tie.
The victory not only nipped a two-game slide for the Cats, but also avoided what would have been a three-game sweep at the hands of the first-half champions, who came into the game with a perfect 4-0 in the second half of the season.
Picking up the win was Lion closer Lin Yueh-ping, who did not look sharp at all with an earned run charged against him on two hits in the top of the 10th, while the loss went to the Bulls’ Micheal Tejera, who failed to preserve the win as he allowed a lead-off single to start the Lions’ 10th and surrendered the tying run on a walk before the eventual loss.
DOUBLE: Harry Kane has now netted 12 goals in six games, scoring his second hat-trick this season after Bayern’s opening Bundesliga match against Leipzig last month That man again. Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season on Saturday to steer Bayern Munich to a 4-1 win at Hoffenheim for the best Bundesliga start any team has made after four rounds. The England captain scored before the break and converted two penalties after it to take his club tally to 12 goals in six games across all competitions — 13 goals in seven games including the German Supercup. Kane’s other hat-trick was in the Bundesliga-opening 6-0 rout of Leipzig. Bayern’s record of 12 points with a goal difference of 15-plus is the best after four rounds of the Bundesliga
Rwanda is to take center stage from today as the first African country to host the cycling world championships, in its latest use of sports to improve the country’s reputation. As it prepares for 5,000 cyclists and 20,000 spectators, Rwanda has spruced up its roads, created a network of cycle lanes and run multiple police drills. A poor, landlocked country in east Africa still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used various sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organizational efficiency. It has spent lavishly on soccer sponsorship deals with clubs
New Zealand yesterday basked in “amazing” athletics glory after winning two gold medals in as many days at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Geordie Beamish on Monday claimed New Zealand’s first track gold in history with a shock victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, while high jumper Hamish Kerr followed with gold on Tuesday to make it an unprecedented double success for a country much better known for rugby than its prowess in track and field. Before this week, the country had won only six golds in total at the championships. Yesterday morning New Zealand were in the giddy position of fourth on
After Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday pitched five hitless innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Rafael Marchon hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Blake Treinen with two outs in the ninth inning for a 9-6 win. Brandon Marsh had a two-run homer and Max Kepler added a solo shot in a six-run sixth for Philadelphia. Ohtani’s 50th homer leading off the eighth helped the Dodgers tie the game 6-6. The Phillies erased a 4-0 deficit against Justin Wrobleski in another stunning collapse by the Dodgers bullpen. Philadelphia rallied for four runs in the seventh and eighth innings and another in the
RSS