An explosive six-run fourth turned a 0-1 deficit into a 6-1 lead as the Uni-President Lions went on defeat the Brother Elephants 8-2 at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium last night to win their eighth in their past 10 games.
Lin Chih-shiang’s leadoff walk off Elephants starter Lin Yu-ching, followed by an error by the Elephants second baseman set up Kao Guo-ching’s RBI single that scored the first of six runs in the decisive fourth, as the Lions sent eleven batters to the plate to rough up the Elephants’ pitching.
The six-run cushion was more than ample for Lions starter Yuya Kamada, who overcame a one-run second with a strong second effort over seven frames to win his league-best seventh of the season. The Japanese standout allowed two runs on nine hits, while fanning seven and walking two to improve to a perfect 7-0 mark.
Leading the way at the plate for the Cats was Chang Tai-shan, who went a perfect four-for-four and scored a run for his team to up his average to .343.
Taking the loss was Lin, who looked sharp through the third before running into a world of trouble against an unforgiving Lions lineup that teed off against him with six straight hits to chase the rookie right-hander. Even though two of the six runs he allowed were unearned, his impressive 1.69 ERA heading into last night’s contest took a nasty turn north as it climbed to 2.28.
BULLS 7, MONKEYS 5
Wu Tsong-jung’s two-run double blew a 4-2 game wide open in the top of the ninth as the Sinon Bulls held off a late-game rally by the Lamigo Monkeys to preserve a 7-5 road win at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night.
The win not only ups the Bulls’ current win streak to a -season-high three straight, but also brought them to within a game of the third-place Elephants in the standings as they looked to climb out of the cellar.
Trailing by five heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Monkeys scored three runs off the Sinon bullpen to give the home fans something to cheer about.
However, with the bases loaded and the tying run on second, Chen Chin-fong took a hack at the first pitch he saw off Lamigo reliever Lin Yen-fong that bounced to second for the game-ending out that cut the rally short.
Starter Lin Chen-hua was credited with his first career win, while the loss went to the Monkeys’ Lin Jia-wei, who remains winless at 0-3 for the year.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS