Behind seven effective innings of two-run ball by Wang Ching-ming, the Uni-President Lions plated three early runs and held on to defeat the Chinatrust Brothers 3-2 at the Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City last night.
The win not only marked Wang’s first in nearly five weeks, but it also helped the Cats clinch the weekend series 2-1 as they ascended to second in the standings in a tie with the EDA Rhinos, 5.5 games behind the Lamigo Monkeys.
Chen Yung-chi’s two-out single with the bases loaded scored two in the top of the third inning to give the visitors an early lead, an advantage they immediately added to in the fourth when Kao Chih-kang singled off Brothers starter Lin Ying-chieh and scored on a double by Luo Kuo-lung.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The run in the fourth proved invaluable as the Lions’ offense failed to score again, needing Wang to pitch through the seventh inning with a slim one-run advantage, before setup man Kao Chien-san and closer Warner Madrigal combined for a perfect eighth and ninth to preserve the victory.
Lin looked solid in his second start after being promoted to the rotation. He allowed three runs on seven hits over six frames, while fanning four and walking a pair, but fell victim to an anemic offense.
MONKEYS 9, RHINOS 1
The Lamigo Monkeys successfully swept their weekend series on the road by routing the EDA Rhinos 9-1 at the Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium in Kaohsiung last night.
Mitch Atkins nipped a two-game losing skid by holding the Rhinos to a lone run on seven hits in as many innings to pick up his third win.
Doing the damage at the plate for the league leaders was catcher Huang Hao-ran, who drove in three runs in a three-for-five effort to pace the Primates on a night they were forced to leave Lin Chih-sheng and Chen Chun-hsiu off the lineup due to minor injuries.
The fine offensive display by the Monkeys spoiled the return of Rhinos lefty Andy Sisco, who rejoined after spending a year with KT Wiz of South Korea’s Korean Baseball Organization. In his first start he lasted only four-plus innings, with seven allowed runs (four earned) on eight hits.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB