Kao Guo-hui’s two-run single off Lions reliever Liao Wen-yang capped a five-run fourth as the EDA Rhinos humbled the Uni-President Lions 7-2 at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night to claim an important win.
The victory not only upped the top-ranked Rhinos’ lead over the second-placed Lions to two full games with only a handful of games remaining in the first half, but it also backed the Lions to the wall as they must win nearly all of their four remaining makeup games to keep pace with the Rhinos in the hunt for the first-half title.
With top spot in the standings up for grabs, the showdown between the two elite clubs lived up to its billing through the first two innings, with Lin Ying-jeh of the Rhinos matching Nelson Figueroa of the Lions out for out.
Photo: Liao Yau-tung, Taipei Times
However, that quickly changed in the bottom of the third as the Rhinos strung together four straight singles off Figueroa to score a pair of runs for a 2-0 lead.
Even though the Lions managed to get both runs back in the top of the fourth on the strength of Chang “OEO” Tai-shan’s RBI single and Kao Guo-ching’s sacrifice fly off Lin to even things up, that was the extent to which they were able to hang with the Rhinos as the league leaders took advantage of two poor throws on a put-out attempt by Figueroa in the bottom of the fourth to set up what ended up being a five-run inning.
That was the difference as Lin held his ground through the seventh without giving up another run in one of his best outings of the year to beat his counterpart in the latter’s second tour of duty in Taiwan.
MONKEYS 6, ELEPHANTS 5
The Lamigo Monkeys held off a late rally by the Brother Elephants to escape with a 6-5 win at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night to force a tie for third place in the standings with their opponents.
After a five-run sixth by the Primates that turned a 1-2 deficit into a 6-2 lead — highlighted by Lin Chih-sheng’s two-run blast off Elephants starter Lin Yu-ching — the game suddenly shifted in favor of the visitors as they chipped away at the deficit with a run in the seventh and two in the eighth to get within a run of the Monkeys.
That was as close as the Elephants got, though, as closer Hsu Ming-jeh calmly recorded the final three outs in the ninth, despite allowing two runners on through a hit batsman and a single to preserve the win for starter Wang Fong-hsin.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two