One week into the second half of the season and the surprise around the league are the 4-1 Brother Elephants, who had won three straight as of yesterday with a pair of close victories over the previously red-hot Lamigo Monkeys to ascend to the top of the standings.
Leading the way is a young starting rotation featuring third-year righty Tseng Soong-wei, second-year righty Lin Yu-ching and 28-year-old southpaw Cheng Chi-hung, who have picked a win apiece to contribute to their team’s early success.
Even though there are still plenty of games remaining in the second half, the timely surge of the Elephant pitching trio, coupled with the expected improvement of Puerto Rican hired gun Miguel Mejia, should give coach Hsieh Chang-hen and the men in yellow something to cheer about after their last-place finish in the first half.
“The level of play has evened out as teams get more familiar with each other,” Hsieh said earlier this week.
His team have experienced a roller-coaster first half, with several five-plus game losing skids and two impressive win streaks that topped out at eight wins in a row.
Now that the pitching staff has finally settled in and the hitting is beginning to take form with Chou Si-chi, Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min and Kuo Chien-yu hitting their marks, the Elephants are ready to give any club in the league a run for their money.
UPCOMING GAMES
The Elephants will have a chance to show what they are really made of with a three-game weekend series against the EDA Rhinos on the road scheduled for this weekend.
Tseng was due to lead the way by squaring off against the Rhinos lineup last night, before Mejia and Lin follow suit.
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Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
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Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put