Lin Yu-ching tossed seven effective innings of one-run ball and Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min drove in a pair of runs as the Brother Elephants edged past the Lamigo Monkeys 3-1 at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium yesterday to clinch the weekend series.
In the third straight game that was decided by two or fewer runs between the two clubs, it was the Elephants who got the job done when it mattered the most as they came through with the timely hits to humble a Primates team in a series that could have easily gone the other way.
After Chia Chia’s two-run double put the Elephants ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the men in the golden uniforms added to their lead with a run in the third, when Wang Sheng-wei and Chen Jiang-ho connected on back-to-back singles with two outs to score a runner from third.
The Monkeys finally broke through with a run off Lin in the top of the fourth when Kuo Yen-wen led off the inning with a rare triple and scored on Lin Hung-yu’s sacrifice fly on the ensuing play to make it 3-1. However, that was all the offense the defending champions could muster off the Elephants starter as they came up empty in the fifth inning, despite a leadoff double off Lin.
They then hit into a double play in the eighth to strand another runner.
Lin was awarded his sixth win of the season for his outstanding effort, while the loss went to Wang Yi-cheng, who made a quality start in his own right (three earned runs on seven hits over 6-1/3 innings of play) in a losing cause.
LIONS 9, RHINOS 1
The Uni-President Lions beat the EDA Rhinos for the second straight night by roughing up the first-half champions in a 9-1 rout at the Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday.
It was an excellent way for the Cats to top off a great weekend of baseball that saw staff ace Pan “Du Du” Wei-luen overtake the lead in career victories with No. 109 on Saturday.
Nelson Figueroa followed Du Du with seven strong innings of five-hit ball, with the lone Rhinos run off him being unearned to win his second straight start.
Leading the way for the Cats were Kuo Jung-yo, Deng Chih-wei and Chang “OEO” Tai-shan, who teed off against the Rhinos pitching with a pair of hits and an RBI apiece to account for the bulk of their team’s offense.
DOUBLE: Harry Kane has now netted 12 goals in six games, scoring his second hat-trick this season after Bayern’s opening Bundesliga match against Leipzig last month That man again. Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season on Saturday to steer Bayern Munich to a 4-1 win at Hoffenheim for the best Bundesliga start any team has made after four rounds. The England captain scored before the break and converted two penalties after it to take his club tally to 12 goals in six games across all competitions — 13 goals in seven games including the German Supercup. Kane’s other hat-trick was in the Bundesliga-opening 6-0 rout of Leipzig. Bayern’s record of 12 points with a goal difference of 15-plus is the best after four rounds of the Bundesliga
Rwanda is to take center stage from today as the first African country to host the cycling world championships, in its latest use of sports to improve the country’s reputation. As it prepares for 5,000 cyclists and 20,000 spectators, Rwanda has spruced up its roads, created a network of cycle lanes and run multiple police drills. A poor, landlocked country in east Africa still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used various sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organizational efficiency. It has spent lavishly on soccer sponsorship deals with clubs
SSC Napoli on Monday maintained their lead at the top of Serie A with a 3-2 win over promoted Pisa SC, which continued the champions’ perfect start to their domestic campaign. Lorenzo Lucca’s first goal for his new club, thumped home in the 82nd minute, ended up being the winning goal in a narrow win for Napoli, who have 12 points from four league matches. That put Napoli two points ahead of second-placed Juventus following their great rivals’ draw at Hellas Verona on Saturday, and three ahead of AS Roma and AC Milan who complete the top four. Napoli head to the San
New Zealand yesterday basked in “amazing” athletics glory after winning two gold medals in as many days at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Geordie Beamish on Monday claimed New Zealand’s first track gold in history with a shock victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, while high jumper Hamish Kerr followed with gold on Tuesday to make it an unprecedented double success for a country much better known for rugby than its prowess in track and field. Before this week, the country had won only six golds in total at the championships. Yesterday morning New Zealand were in the giddy position of fourth on
RSS