Mike McClendon went the distance in a one five-hit gem and Chou Si-chi drove in three runs on a perfect three-for-three night as the Chinatrust Brothers broke a 2-1 game wide open with a three-run seventh to top the Uni-President Lions 7-1 at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium last night.
The win not only avoided what would have been a demoralizing series sweep at the hands of the Lions for the Brothers, but also increased their lead over the second-placed Cats to two games.
“It is a big win for us because we really had not played well as a team in the past two days, and a sweep would have set us back further,” Brothers coach Wu Fu-lien said after the game.
His troops held a slim one-game lead over the Cats heading into the contest after dropping two straight to reduce a three-game lead at the start of the weekend to a single game following Saturday night’s 11-1 trouncing.
The showdown between the top two clubs in the league finally lived up to its billing, with McClendon and his counterpart, Liao Wen-yang, holding the opposing offense to just one run through the fourth after the two teams traded a run apiece in the first, courtesy of Chou’s RBI single for Chinatrust and a leadoff homer by Lin Chih-hsiang for the Lions.
Neither team scored again over the next three frames, with both starters pitching into and out of trouble in the third and the fourth respectively, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats.
Liao’s luck finally ran out in the top of the fifth when he issued a one-out walk to Chou and allowed a single to Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min on the ensuing play to place runners at the corners before giving up a run on a wild pitch that made it 2-1.
Even though Liao got out of the inning without giving up another run, the damage was already done as McClendon mowed through the Lions lineup by retiring all but one of the next 16 batters he faced, on the way to his seventh win of the season.
“It is great to be able to help the team win against a great team like [the Lions],” the US right-hander said after the game.
His timely surge could be what is needed to keep the top-ranked Brothers flying high amid a hot pursuit of the tenacious Cats.
Taking the loss was Liao, who pitched well through the sixth in a 2-1 game before allowing two runners to reach safely in a rough seventh.
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
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,
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