A full-house is expected at the Chungcing Lake Baseball Field in Greater Kaohsiung this afternoon as the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) opens its 22nd season with a showdown between the Sinon Bulls and the Brother Elephants.
The highly anticipated rematch of last year’s Taiwan Series, which saw the Elephants overwhelm the Bulls in one of the biggest upsets in CPBL postseason history, will feature Elephants newcomer Tseng Song-wei — who joined the defending champions after a three-year stint in the minors with the Cleveland Indians — and his counterpart, Bulls veteran ace Yang Jien-fu.
Yang overcame disappointing back-to-back seasons with a solid outing last season to reclaim a well-deserved honor as the Opening Day starter.
Leading the potent lineup for the men in their familiar yellow uniforms will be captain and cleanup man Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min and Chou Si-chi, whose .357 and .298 batting averages respectively, with 121 combined RBIs last season, will pose a serious threat to the opposing pitchers.
The Bulls will look to their own slugger Lin Yi-chuan, who is back for his third season after two successful campaigns highlighted by the 2009 season’s Most Valuable Player honor.
A point worth mentioning in this year’s season opener is that no foreign players will appear on either batting lineup as the Bulls opted to go with an all-local roster for the season, while the Elephants have used all three of their allotted foreign players’ spots for pitchers.
The Kaohsiung fans will have an opportunity to experience a grand-scale Fan Fest that begins at 1pm at the ballpark. There will also be a fireworks display following the game.
World No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying yesterday eased past her Thai opponent to advance to the second round of the Toyota Thailand Open. The Taiwanese star toppled world No. 46 Supanida Katethong 21-16, 21-11 in 29 minutes at the Impact Arena in Bangkok. “I think I played OK today. I am feeling a little better than last week,” Tai said. Tomorrow, Tai faces Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. The two have faced each other six times, with Tai beating the world No. 21 in all six matches. Tai on Sunday reached the final of the Yonex Thailand Open before losing decisively against Carolina Marin of Spain.
SWEEP THE LEG: Poirier, determined to best McGregor, after losing to him in 2014, used low calf kicks to throw ‘Notorious’ off his stand-up game, before dropping him American underdog Dustin Poirier yesterday shook up the world of mixed martial arts, beating up the legs of Irish superstar Conor McGregor before knocking him out at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. “I’m happy, but I’m not surprised. I put in the work,” Poirier said, after the referee stepped in after 2 minutes, 32 seconds of the second round to save McGregor from further damage, after he was dropped by a fierce combination of punches. The 32-year-old Poirier was ranked second in the flyweight division going into the fight, but still rated a heavy underdog by bookmakers to beat his fourth-ranked opponent,
LOOKING TO REPEAT: World No. 7 Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin advanced to the round-of-16 at the Toyota Thailand Open, after winning the Yonex Thailand Open on Sunday Taiwan’s world No. 7 duo yesterday eased past the US’ world No. 37 pairing at the Toyota Thailand Open to reach the round-of-16 in Bangkok. Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin beat Phillip Chew and Ryan Chew 21-14, 21-11 in just 24 minutes. Lee and Wang, who won the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Thailand Open on Sunday, next face the world No. 34 pairing, Canada’s Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura. In men’s singles, Taiwan’s world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen again beat Thailand’s world No. 45 Suppanyu Avihingsanon, after edging past the Thai player in the opening round of the Yonex
Three new COVID-19 cases yesterday hit the Australian Open’s troubled buildup as a backlash grew against international tennis players flown in during a raging pandemic. Two of the new cases were players, state health officials said, taking the total infections to seven since more than 1,000 people arrived in largely COVID-19-free Australia on charter flights last week. The Victoria Department of Health and Human Services said that the two players and a third person associated with the tournament — a woman in her 20s, and two men in their 30s — had returned positive results. The year’s first Grand Slam, delayed three weeks,
RSS