Steve Hammond tossed seven innings of one-run ball, despite giving up nine hits, while Lin Chih-sheng drove a pair of runs on a three-for-five effort as the Lamigo Monkeys went on to defeat the Sinon Bulls 4-1 at the Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium yesterday afternoon to clinch the weekend series by a 2-1 margin.
It was a big win for Hammond as he bounced back from a disappointing loss in his previous start (on Sunday last week), in which he served up seven runs to improve to 2-1 for the season.
As for Lin, the three hits on the day represented his ninth multi-hit game in the 15 games played thus far, upping his league-best hit total to 30 and counting.
“I guess I have been seeing the ball quite well as of late,” Lin said after the game.
His terrific start to the season has more than silenced his critics, who challenged his contribution to the team after he signed a five-year blockbuster deal with the Monkeys for more than NT$24 million (US$828,000) during the offseason.
The Monkeys trailed the Bulls during the first two innings as Hammond allowed a run in the opening frame on three hits before the Lamigo offense got to Sinon starter Lin Keh-chien with two runs in the third to claim a 2-1 lead.
They would double the lead to 4-1 with a run each in the fifth and sixth, courtesy of run-scoring singles by Kuo Sho-wei and Lin Chih-ping.
This lead stood the rest of the way, with Hammond holding his ground through the seventh before the Lamigo bullpen took over with two scoreless innings of relief to secure the win.
Taking the loss for the Bulls was Lin Keh-chien, who allowed two runs on six hits in four innings of play with minimal run support as he suffered his first defeat of the season.
ELEPHANTS 6, LIONS 2
The Brother Elephants avenged Saturday night’s tough loss to the Uni-President Lions with a 6-2 triumph over the Cats at the Pingtung County Baseball Stadium yesterday afternoon to take the three-game weekend set by an identical 2-1 margin.
Chang Cheng-wei’s tie--breaking liner to the left off Lion starter Dan Reichert put the Elephants ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the second and they never looked back en route to a convincing 6-2 win.
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