Lin Chih-ping’s two-out single with runner on third scored the go-ahead run for the Lamigo Monkeys as they held on to defeat the EDA Rhinos 3-2 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night to take their home weekend series.
Slugger Lin Chih-sheng returned to the Monkeys lineup for the first time in nearly a month and cleanup man Lin Hung-yu enjoyed his third game since returning from injury.
The defending champs drew first blood against the league-leading Rhinos with a run in the bottom of the second off EDA starter Andy Sisco, courtesy of three straight base hits off the American lefty.
Sisco regained his poise with a scoreless third after teammate Chang Chien-ming knocked in a run to tie the game at 1-1. However, he surrendered the Monkeys’ second run of the game in the fourth on Lin Cheng-yi’s two-out single that scored the runner from second to fall behind for the second time in the game.
The 2-1 lead stood through the sixth for the hosts until Lin Yi-chuan knotted things up once again in the seventh with his league-best 11th homer of the year, a solo blast to deep-center off Lamigo starter Mike Loree that set up Lin Chih-ping’s game-winner in the bottom of the same inning.
Trailing by a run at the top of the ninth, the Rhinos managed to put the first two batters on with a pair of singles by Fang Keh-wei and Manny Ramirez off Monkey’s closer J.D. Durbin.
However, the former major leaguer denied the Rhinos with the help of a double play before getting Cheng Hong-da to ground out to second for the game-ending out.
Loree was credited with his fifth win of the season, allowing two runs on five hits over eight innings to outperform Sisco, who threw seven solid innings of three-run ball on ten hits to fall to a 6-3 mark for the year.
Lions 12, Elephants 2
The Uni-President Lions broke a 1-1 tie wide open with nine runs in the top of the sixth to humiliate the Brother Elephants at the Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City last night to claim their weekend set against the men in yellow.
The victory not only stretched the Cats’ win streak to four straight, but also propelled them to a tie for first place in the standings with the Rhinos.
Chang “OEO” Tai-shan had a huge day at the office with two doubles in the decisive sixth, with the Cats sending 15 men to the plate while Kuo Jung-yo drove in four on a 2-for-3 night with a home run to his credit.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set