Chang “OEO” Tai-shan’s two-run homer over the left-center wall blew an otherwise narrow 1-0 game wide open in the top of the eighth as the Uni-President Lions went on to blank the Lamigo Monkeys 6-0 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night to even up the series at one win apiece.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
The win not only upped the defending champs’ record to an even 9-9 to tie the Primates for the second place in the standings, but also put a temporary stop to a recent slide for them as they won for just the second time in the past six contests in an effort to duplicate their first-half success that would earn them an automatic 1-0 lead in the annual Taiwan Series.
Pan “TAKE” Wu-hsiung’s two-out single with a runner on second broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth, a score that would hold through the seventh with neither pitching staff giving in an inch to the opposing hitters.
However, that changed in a hurry in the eighth with a thunderous swing by Chang, again with two outs and a man on, to put his team ahead 3-0.
They then piled on three more in the ninth to humble the Monkeys in the end.
Starter Liao Wen-yang came out of the Lions bullpen in just his third start of the season, but pitched as if he had been a member of the starting rotation all along by scattering three singles while walking a pair over 5-1/3 innings of play to pick up win No. 8 for the year. He is now 7-0 with an ERA of 2.87.
Taking the loss was Lamigo reliever Cheng Cheng-hao, who entered in the third in relief of starter Ken Ray and gave up a run on two hits over 2-1/3 innings of work to drop to a 4-5 record for the year.
Bulls 3 Elephants 1
The Sinon Bulls dealt the red-hot Brother Elephants a rare defeat in a 3-1 final at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu last night thanks to a dominant effort by starter Lai Hong-cheng.
SHOWDOWN
The showdown between a pair of former aces for the National Taiwan Sport University, Lai for the Bulls and rookie sensation Lin Yu-ching of the Elephants, was a pitchers’ duel through the fourth with neither offense able to produce any runs in a scoreless tie.
However, the Bulls made sure that the Elephants, winners of ten straight heading into last night’s contest, would not have their way in setting a new team record for win streaks by dialing up four consecutive base hits off Lin to plate three runs in the fifth.
Even though the Elephants finally broke through in the eighth against Lai with a run to deny the rookie lefty a shutout bid, they still fell short by a deuce as the Sinon bullpen held their ground to preserve the first career win for Lai.
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