The EDA Rhinos swept the day-night doubleheader series by topping the Chinatrust Brothers 7-6 in a matinee meeting at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium before closing out the deal by a 9-1 margin in the nightcap in Taichung last night.
The two victories not only gave the Rhinos a clean sweep in the three-game set against the Brothers, but lifted them past the 10-win plateau to net them a 2.5 game lead over the second-placed Lamigo Monkeys in the standings three weeks into the new season.
Chang Chien-ming’s solo homer off Brothers reliever Luo Kuo-hua in the top of the eighth proved to be the difference in the game, as it put the visitors ahead by three at that point, just enough to hold off a two-run rally by Chinatrust in the bottom of the ninth to send the Rhinos into the win column.
Even though the Rhinos never trailed in the contest with four quick runs off Chinatrust starter Cheng Kai-wen over the first two innings of play, they were able to put the game away as the Brothers kept on fighting back.
Trailing by three, Chinatrust plated a pair off Luo Chia-ren with three straight doubles off the EDA closer. However, with the tying run almost 30m from the plate and his team hanging onto a slim one-run advantage, the former Houston Astros pitcher managed to strike out the final batter to preserve the win for fellow reliever Tsai Ming-chin.
Tagged with his first loss of the season was Brothers starter Cheng, who allowed six runs on 12 hits over six frames in a losing effort.
In the night game in Taichung, the Rhinos cashed in on a shaky outing by Chen Hung-wen by erupting for six runs in the ninth against the Chinatrust closer to blow an otherwise close 3-1 game wide open in an eventual 9-1 final.
Chien Chia-yo earned his first win of the year by tossing three shutout innings- of two-hit relief to beat Brothers starter Hsieh Jung-hao, who pitched six innings of three-run ball, but fell victim to an anemic offense that managed to muster only one run on eight hits on the night.
MONKEYS 8, LIONS 3
Chen Chun-hsiu’s two-run double, coupled with a two-run error by the Uni-President Lions defense, led to a six-run eighth for the Lamigo Monkeys as they blew a two-all tie wide open late in the game to run away with an 8-3 win at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium last night.
It was the second straight multi-RBI game for Chen, who also delivered a two-run double the night before to guide the Monkeys past their foes on the road.
The win clinched the three-game series in Tainan for the visiting Primates after they split the first two matches against the home Cats with one win apiece.
Chung “Yoyo Man” Cheng-yo’s run-scoring single broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second to give Lamigo a quick 1-0 advantage, which lasted into the sixth before the home Cats answered with two runs of their own to lead it 2-1.
Yu Teh-lung’s clutch single with a runner on second made it two-all in the seventh, setting the stage for Lamigo’s game-breaking eighth that made a winner out of Hung Sheng-chin, who beat Lions starter Pan “Du Du” Wei-lung.
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS