Japan beat Taiwan 4-2 in the 2013 Japan vs Taiwan Baseball Challenge game at the Hsinchuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City last night.
Miscues on the defensive side of the ball cost the hosts dearly as two of Japan’s runs were set up by the pair of errors that the Taiwanese defense committed.
That wasted a solid effort by Taiwan starter Wang Yao-lin, who cruised through the first four frames unharmed with a 1-0 lead, pitching two-hit ball against a Japanese lineup that struck out five times against the righty.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Taiwan jumped to a quick 1-0 lead against Japanese starter Yasuhiro Ogawa in the bottom of the first, when Chen Pin-chieh led off the inning with a single, stole second, and scored on Chiang Chih-hsien’s RBI single.
The lead lasted until the fifth as back-to-back doubles by Japan’s Hideto Asamura and Shogo Akiyama tied the game at 1-1, before the visitors took the lead on Motohiro Shima’s RBI single.
Although Taiwan tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth with a run off Japanese reliever Yudai Ohno, the visitors claimed a 4-2 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth on the strength of errors by the Taiwan defense to set up Akiyama’s sacrifice fly and Ryosuke Hirata’s RBI single.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Hulking Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan on Monday surged away from the pack to win the second stage of the Criterium de Dauphine in Issoire, France, to take the overall lead from Tadej Pogacar. The 1.93m, 87kg Milan had to battle to keep up on a hilly 204.6km run through central France from Premilhat. When the pack hit the home straight, he rocketed away from his rivals to collect a 10-second victory bonus and the yellow jersey. “That was really tough,” Milan said. “I was dropped at one point, and I was really on the limit, but I have to say
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
RSS