Taiwan roughed up previously unbeaten Japan in a 9-0 shutout to win the title game of the IBAF Under-21 Baseball World Cup tournament at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night and secure the gold medal in the 10-day competition.
Having lost to Japan the day before in the Super Round Robin to surrender field advantage in the final game, the hosts not only wanted to keep the title in Taiwan, but also avenge their lone loss in the tournament.
And that was exactly what they did as they overwhelmed the visitors from the north by scoring early and often.
Photo: CNA
“I am so proud of our players for believing in themselves even after [Saturday’s] loss; we didn’t let anyone down tonight,” an emotional Taiwan skipper Kuo-Lee Chien-fu said after the game.
His troops pulled off a rare feat by downing Japan and South Korea in the same tournament for the first time in recent years.
Starter Kuo Chun-lin was well on top of his game, with seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball silencing a Japan lineup, who had averaged nine runs per game in their previous seven outings.
Photo: CNA
The right-hander from National Taiwan Sport University, who is to pursue a professional career with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball later this month, ended his amateur days on a high note.
“We really did it, yes we did!” Kuo said after the game.
Lee Tsung-hsien’s bases-loaded walk off a wild pitch by Japan starter Yudai Mori in the top of the second got Taiwan on the board, before a wild throw by reliever Yuya Yokohama on what would have been an inning-ending double play scored two more to give Taiwan a 3-0 lead.
That led to a two-run fourth in which Taiwan pounded out a pair of singles and a double off Yokohama to send the lefty packing.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth against Japan reliever Kazoto Taguchi, the Taiwan hitters broke out once more with two runs each in the seventh and eighth to take a commanding 9-0 lead.
Four players had multi-hit games, with Yang Tai-chun’s 4-for-5 outing and a pair of RBIs leading the way.
Also starring was outfielder Tsao Yu-ning, who picked up two hits and a diving catch that took away a run-scoring extra-base hit from Japan’s Sho Azegami in the second.
In other games yesterday, the Czech Republic beat Australia 6-5 to claim fifth and South Korea took the bronze medal by beating Nicaragua 10-4.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
RSS