The top-ranked Uni-President Lions needed three unanswered runs over the final two innings to defeat the Brother Elephants 9-5 in Pingtung on Sunday and maintain their slim one-game lead over the Lamigo Monkeys in the standings, but it was a costly victory for the Lions as their top RBI specialist, Chen Yong-chi, suffered a fractured left tibia after he fouled off a pitch that nailed him in the most vulnerable part of his left leg.
In the 45 games that the Lions’ No. 1 pick has played this season, he has amassed an amazing 34 RBIs to lead his team in RBIs, hits (62) and batting average (.341).
“We definitely won’t be the same team without him [Chen], that’s for sure, but that’s part of the game,” Lions manager Lu Wen-sheng said earlier this week.
Chen could be out for as long as three months pending a second opinion from the Lions medical staff, leaving the CPBL leaders without his invaluable services in a tight pennant race with the Monkeys.
Without Chen in the lineup to lead the offense, the Lions lost the only game they have played since Sunday, a 5-1 defeat as the heart of the order batted a combined one-for-11 with one RBI. He will definitely be sorely missed.
Chen’s misfortune is not the only injury a high-profile player suffered in the league this week. The Monkeys also lost their top slugger, “Mr Everything” Lin Chih-sheng, to a stress fracture of his ribs, curbing the current home run leader and the two-time defending home run champ’s playing time for at least a week.
“He [Lin] is the kind of player who gives his all every time he steps into a batter’s box. We hope to see him in action sometime next week,” Monkeys skipper Hong Yi-chung was quoted as saying yesterday.
While injuries have affected the Lions and the Monkeys, the Elephants are excited about the return of their top gun Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min, who will return to action after being sidelined for nearly two months nursing a hand injury. Chia Chia will most likely play as a pinch hitter this week, before a full return to the lineup.
Kylian Mbappe struck from the penalty spot as Real Madrid beat a dogged CA Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday to make a winning start in Spanish La Liga under new coach Xabi Alonso. The France striker, last season’s European Golden Shoe winner, scored early in the second half, after he was fouled in the area by Osasuna defender Juan Cruz. It was enough to seal the points in Alonso’s first game in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid now unbeaten in their opening fixture of a league campaign since 2008. “You can see that Kylian wants to do even more
TO THE TOP: After securing the international title on Saturday, Team Taiwan were to face Las Vegas to potentially win their 18th Little League World Series championship A team from Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School won the Little League Baseball World Series’ international title on Saturday by defeating Aruba 1-0 in the annual baseball tournament held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Taiwan team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, were after press time last night to face a team from Las Vegas, Nevada, which beat a team from Fairfield, Connecticut, in the US championship 8-2. Taiwan are seeking to win their first Little League Baseball World Series title since 1996. “Really haven’t taken a moment to data dump right now on Taiwan,” Nevada manager T.J. Fescher said. “They’re a
‘CATASTROPHE’: Despite losing several key forwards in the summer transfer window, Bayern were up 3-0 in the first half before Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in the second Harry Kane hit a hat-trick, Michael Olise a double and newcomer Luis Diaz also scored as Bayern Munich made a “statement” against RB Leipzig 6-0 at home in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday. Bayern’s big-money arrivals, all brought in from the Premier League across the past three seasons, were dominant as the Bavarians begun their title defense in style. Olise scored twice in the first half, either side of a Diaz strike. Not to be outdone, Kane scored three goals in the second half — with two assists coming from Diaz, to bring Bayern’s total to 6-0. Kane told the Bundesliga
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the
RSS