Held to three scanty singles against stingy Japanese pitching, Taiwan proved no match for their neighbors from the north in a 1-0 shutout loss in the final game of the Japan Taiwan Baseball Challenge at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu last night.
The loss not only gave Japan a clean sweep of the Taiwan national squad, but also exposed the sizable gap in the level of play between the two nations in the sport that both would readily claim as the national sport.
With their backs against the wall following back-to-back losses to Japan in the first two contests, Taiwan sent Kuo Chun-lin to the mound in search of an elusive win and the righty out of the Taiwan National University of Physical Education and Sport more than did his bit by keeping the potent Japan offense to a lone run on five hits over six innings, before being relieved at the start of the seventh.
Photo: CNA
Unfortunately for Kuo, it was one run too many as Taiwan’s batting lineup fell victims to an even more spectacular effort by the Japanese pitchers, who frustrated the hosts’ batters all night by holding them to a stunning none-for-10 with runners on base to keep the shutout intact.
After two scoreless innings in which Taiwan failed to cash in on three early walks and a single by Japanese starter Kazuki Mishima, the opportunistic Japan offense managed to plate a run off Kuo when Ryosuke Kikuchi singled with two outs and reached third after stealing second. He scored on an RBI single by Takero Okajima.
The 1-0 lead would be sufficient to deliver the victory as Mishima quickly regained his composure to shut down the Taiwan attack before three able relievers out of the visitors’ bullpen combined for five scoreless innings of one-hit ball to blank the hosts.
Taiwan had their best scoring chance after the second inning in the seventh, when Yang Dai-kang reached first on an error by the Japanese shortstop and took second on a sacrifice bunt on the ensuing play.
However, Lin Han and Chen Chun-hsiu came up empty against Japanese reliever Takahiro Matsuba to strand the runner and end the inning.
Matsuba was credited with the win for his three innings of hitless relief, while Kuo was charged with the loss, despite a solid outing on the mound.
HOMETOWN ZERO: Fans relished the fall of former Brewer-turned-Cubs manager Craig Counsell, as Milwaukee braces to face the Dodgers, who in 2018 denied them a pennant Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has referred to his team as the “Average Joes,” a nod to their small-market status and lack of big names, but after they beat rivals the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the decisive fifth game of their National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday night, Murphy decided it was time for an upgrade. “You can call them the average Joes, but I say they’re the above-average Joes,” he said. The Brewers relied on contributions from just about every player to get past the Cubs. Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning, and William Contreras and Brice
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph. “Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse. With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx. This time, it was their
‘IT’S BASEBALL’: In just the second error to end a post-season series in the MLB, the Phillies reliever fumbled a comebacker and threw to home, despite the signal Eyes red, Orion Kerkering on Thursday received words of support from his Philadelphia Phillies teammates. “Just keep your head up. It’s an honest mistake. Just, it’s baseball,” he remembered hearing. “You’ll be good for a long time to come,” they added. “It’s not my fault, then. We had opportunities to score,” was the message he kept getting. Kerkering made a wild throw past home plate instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning. Pinch-runner Kim Hye-seong scored and the Phillies were eliminated with a 2-1 loss that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a
RSS