Taiwanese pitcher Hu Chih-wei was the only player from Asia in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Futures Game in San Diego on Sunday, pitching an inning for the victorious World team.
Hu, who plays for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Double A minor league team, pitched a perfect fifth inning for the World, who were trailing 3-0 at the time.
The 22-year-old right-hander needed only eight pitches to retire the three batters he faced in order, notching two strikeouts in the process.
The World team, composed mostly of players from Canada and Latin America, came back to win the game 11-3, ending a six-game losing streak.
Hu described the comeback as “fantastic,” saying it was a “very special and meaningful game.”
He said he felt both nervous and excited when he was called in to pitch the fifth inning, and especially felt a lot of energy when he jogged out to the pitcher’s mound.
However, he told himself to concentrate and ended up getting batters out with his go-to pitches — a two-seam fastball and changeup.
In 15 appearances for his Double A team this year, Hu has a 2-6 record, but an ERA of 2.51.
The right-hander, who has played in the US since 2013, was the thirteenth Taiwanese player picked to play in the Futures Game, often a stepping stone to the major leagues.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS