Led by talisman Peng Cheng-min’s three-run homer, the Brothers Baseball Club scored early last night and the bullpen held firm to thrash the EDA Rhinos 9-2 and seize a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven CPBL Taiwan Series at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.
Going into the third inning tied at 1-1, the Brothers broke the game open when Peng drilled an offering from the Rhinos’ American pitcher Jared Landsford and deposited it in the stands over the left-field wall with two men on the bases.
The three-run shot was key to the five-run assault in the third that made it 6-1 and the Brothers rode the momentum to grab the victory in Game 2.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
Unlike Game 1, the Rhinos could not muster a rally in the later innings and they fell to their second straight defeat.
The contest began with Brothers right-hander Nathan Long battling against his compatriot Lansford, the son of Carney Lansford, the former Oakland A’s star and World Series winner in 1989.
Long got the better of the contest and pocketed the win for yielding just one run through seven innings.
Lansford was charged with the loss after he was rocked in the pivotal third frame and tagged for six hits and six runs in a short outing.
Sixteen-year veteran Peng, nicknamed “Cha Cha” by the Brothers fans, achieved a rare feat by taking the Most Valuable Player honor on two successive nights, after he was the most consistent hitter in Game 1, going three-for-three.
In the post-game interview, Peng gave the credit to his team’s two starters, Long and Bryan Woodall, for keeping the game close until the batters could string some hits together.
“It was a big team effort tonight and the five-run third inning was the key. Then we let the relief pitchers do their job,” Peng said.
Peng also thanked the 20,000 capacity crowd for the second night in a row, most of them clad in the Brothers’ traditional yellow and offering the team boisterous support.
“The bullpen held up tonight and that was also very important. I did not want to see another EDA comeback, like they did on Saturday. So I convened all the pitchers for a pep talk earlier today, and gave them instructions on what they should and should not do. It was a good win and we are in high spirits right now,” Brothers head coach Wu Fu-lien said.
“We must try to get back into the series after falling to two losses. I will give my players a rest tomorrow [Monday], then make a fresh start for Game 3 in Taoyuan [tomorrow]. I believe our offense can fight back and overturn the deficit,” Rhinos head coach Yeh Chun-chang said.
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
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,
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
Supermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Just over 27 hours into the race that began on Friday in Sydney Harbour and is to end on the island state of Tasmania, Comanche had a 4 nautical mile (7.4km) lead over LawConnect. LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo. “We had a few things slow us down and Comanche’s
RSS