The Uni-President Lions held off a three-run rally by the Chinatrust Brothers in the bottom of the ninth to escape with a 4-3 win at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium last night, sweeping the weekend’s three-game series.
Boof Bonser got the Brothers’ Wang Sheng-wei to fly out for the game-ending play, which kept the men in the golden uniforms from turning the tide on the Cats, who won their third straight game by a run.
The US righty, who entered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, managed to redeem himself after giving up a two-run double to Chinatrust’s Chen Chiang-ho that cut the Lions lead to a solitary run.
Photo: CNA
The showdown between the Lions’ Pan “Du Du” Wei-luen and Brothers newcomer Chris Cody saw the Cats drawing first blood after three scoreless innings, when Luo Kuo-lung tripled off Cody and scored on Pan “TAKE” Wu-hsiung’s three-bagger on the next play that made it 1-0 to the visitors.
The Cats extended their lead by two in the fifth, with a run-scoring single from Luo following an RBI groundout by Liu Fu-hao that put them ahead 3-0.
After three scoreless frames, the Lion offense scored their fourth run of the game when TAKE homered off reliever Wang Tzeh-chun, which proved invaluable because it represented the margin of victory, with the Brothers rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Picking up his fifth win of the season with 8-2/3 innings of three-run ball on six hits was Du Du, who took a shutout two outs into the ninth before loading up the bases and surrendering a run, which prompted skipper Chen Lien-hung to bring on Bonser.
Tagged with the loss was Cody, who suffered his first defeat of the season in his third start for the Brothers. The southpaw from the US allowed three runs on eight hits over seven innings.
RHINOS 7, MONKEYS 1
The resurgent EDA Rhinos claimed a three-game road sweep of the Lamigo Monkeys with a win at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium last night, thanks to a solid Taiwan debut by newcomer Victor Garate of Venezuela.
Other than allowing the Monkeys’ lone run in the bottom of the third on a pair of hits, Garate was well on top of his game as he cruised through the sixth without further damage before being pulled after 105 pitches.
Offensively for the Rhinos, the night belonged to Chang Chien-ming and Hu Chin-lung, who combined for five RBIs on as many hits to account for the bulk of the team’s run production.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with