Improved pitching, coupled with timely hitting, has translated into a winning month for the previously struggling Brother Elephants.
After a disappointing April that saw the men in yellow go 6-13 with a five-game and a six-game losing skid, dead last in the standings, the Elephants have recovered from their worst start in recent years by winning five of their nine contests so far this month.
Leading the recent surge for the Elephants off the mound is hard-throwing right-hander Chen Hong-wen, who has made a smooth transition from his former closer’s role to his current starting role with a pair of solid starts in which he went seven innings apiece with an earned run in each outing that resulted in two wins for his club.
The Hualien native who spent six seasons in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system and two seasons in the Mexican Pacific League before opting to return to his homeland this year could be the staff ace that the Elephants have sorely missed with injury bothering Lin En-yu and former first round draft pick Lin Yu-ching falling a tad short of expectations in his second season with the team.
Offensively for the Elephants, timely hitting has made the difference after four of their last five wins were decided by five combined runs.
These incorporated a pair of extra-inning triumphs courtesy of the resurging Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min, whose average has risen over 60 points from .200 to .262 this month, with three homers and six RBIs.
While the main focus of attention has fallen on the two-horse race for the first half title between the Uni-President Lions and the EDA Rhinos, an equally heated battle to stay out of last place in the standings has resulted in an exciting start for the league that has seen people talking baseball more than ever and fans filling up ball parks across the nation for the first time in years.
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
‘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
Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them. The New York Yankees starter on Sunday pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers’ top four hitters in a 7-3 win. “I feel like I’m in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,” Yarbrough said. “I’m having a lot of fun.” The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
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