Four US pitchers combined to shut out South Africa on just two hits as the US bounced back from an opening loss to the Dominican Republic with a 5-0 victory yesterday at Chengching Lake Stadium in Kaohsiung County.
Jason Phillips worked six shutout innings and allowed just one hit. Phillips, who formerly pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, struck out four and did not walk a batter. Tom Shearn, Kirk Bullinger and Shane Nance each hurled one scoreless inning of relief.
The Americans jumped ahead in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs off South African starter Liall Maritz on three hits and a pair of walks. Tampa Bay minor leaguer Carl Crawford drove in both runs with a bases-loaded single.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Team USA added two more runs in the second inning. Marty Malloy hit a two-out single to score Mark Budzinski. After an Orlando Hudson base hit moved Malloy to third, Mallory stole home to make the score 4-0.
"Our goal is to win, and the key for our win today was scoring early," US manager Terry Francona said. "We think we can continue to improve as we get accustomed to the Kaoshiung field."
Today, the US faces Sydney Olympic bronze medalists South Korea in Chiayi City. Lefthander Jason Stanford, who plays with the Cleveland Indians organization, is the scheduled starting pitcher for the US.
Taiwan 10, France 0
In Chiayi City, Taiwan remained on top of Group A at 2-0 as Los Angeles Dodger prospect Chen Ching-fong (
"I just try to make myself relax and play hard. I feel very good right now," Chen said.
Chang Tai-shan (
Amateur pitcher Yang Chien-fu (
The Taiwan team moves south to Kaohsiung to take on Nicaragua today.
Australia 1, Canada 0
At Tienmu Stadium, Australia improved to 2-0 in Group B behind the strong pitching of John Stephens. Stephens stopped the Canadians on two hits over eight innings. He walked only two while striking out two batters.
Adam Burton drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.
Canada fell to 0-2, their bats silenced as they were the day before when they managed only one hit against Cuba.
Canadian manager Marty Lehn promised some changes for today's game against Panama in order to find some offense.
"We had two games against Cuba and Australia in which the pitchers have kept our batters off balance and did an excellent job," he said.
"We are expecting much more from our hitters and hopefully will be able to battle through it. Tomorrow, there probably will be changes in our lineup."
Cuba 17, the Philippines 0
At Shinchuan, a day after getting pummeled 21-0 by Japan, World Cup newcomers, the Philippines, ran into the defending tournament champion. Six-times champions Cuba extended its World Cup winning streak to 45 games with a 21-hit attack off Orlando Benarao, who bravely went the distance for the Philippines.
All of the Cuban starters had a hit as the game was stopped after seven innings. Omar Linares slammed a pair of triples and drove in three runs.
Four pitchers combined on a one-hitter for Cuba.
The Netherlands 18, Russia 0
At Tienmu Stadium, the European champions routed Russia in seven innings to even their record in Group B at 1-1.
The Dutch overwhelmed the Russians, who had upset the Netherlands in a European Cup game only three months ago. Former New York Yankee Hensley Meulens led off the third inning with a home run. The inning was capped by a bases-loaded home run by Evert-Jan 't Hoen.
Seven errors by the Russians left manager Nikolai Guervassov speechless after the game.
"I'm very disappointed. I can't explain the performance in this game. There were way too many errors," he lamented.
Japan 10, Panama 0
At Shinchuan Stadium, Japan broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the fifth and six in the seventh in a game that ended after eight innings. Higashide Akihiro, who plays for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, drove in four runs on a pair of singles.
Nippon Ham Fighter pitcher Nakamura Hayato struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings for the win.
South Korea 10, Italy 0
In Kaohsiung, Lee Young-woo went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs and Shim Chong-soo hit a two-run homer as the Koreans improved to 2-0.
Four Korean pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout.
Dominican Republic 8, Nicaragua 4
In Chiayi City, the two Latin American rivals played the only game of the day that did not end in a shutout.
Yojane Valera hit a grand slam home run in the fourth inning to lead the Dominican Republic to its second straight win. Wilson Sido, who pitches for the Cleveland Indian organization, went 6 2/3 innings for the victory.
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said that she hoped she would be able to play tennis under the Belarusian flag after the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the country’s athletes competing in the Olympics. World No. 1 Sabalenka has had to compete under a neutral banner as a consequence of her country’s support for Russia following its ally’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC earlier on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Asked whether the women’s tour would drop the ban on her representing her country, Sabalenka said:
RSS