The former Gida, who went 30-64-6 to finish second-to-last place last season, seem to have transformed themselves into a solid contender under first-year manager Kuo Tai-yuen (
The Cobras have won close games this year.
Ace closer Huang Chin-chih (黃欽智) has been the main factor in the team's early success as he converted all three of his save opportunities.
Huang hasn't given up an earned run in over six innings.
"His change of speed is what's throwing hitters' timing off," one teammate said under the condition of anonymity. "And his breaking stuff is also catching the corners of the plate."
Huang moved from starter to closer following a shoulder injury. It will be interesting to see whether manager Kuo will reassign Huang to his starting rotation or turn him into the "John Smoltz" of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Round Up
The President Lions took care of business against the lowly Chinatrust Whales in Tuesday's makeup game at Hsinchuang with a final score of 6-0.
The shutout victory breathed new life into the Lions as they climbed out of the cellar for the first time this season.
Pinch hitter Tseng Yang-chih (
A four-run eighth, capped by Lions shortstop Yang Seng's (
Reliever Chen Yang-kai (
Cobras 9, La New Bears 4
The showdown between the Cobras and the La New Bears in Kaohsiung on Tuesday night never lived up to the pre-game hype as the two former TML squads squared off for the first time this season.
The Cobras' offense went to work on Bears starter Phillip Bailey with a pair of first-inning runs and quickly made it 5-2 after just five innings of play.
Bears slugger Pan Chung-wei's (
Even though the final score read 9-4, the Bears never had the timely hits necessary to pile on the runs in any single inning, with their 12 hits producing only four runs.
Cobras 5, Bears 2
Game 2 of the four-game series on Wednesday night featured the league's first leadoff home run of the season, as Bears centerfielder Huang Long-yi (黃龍義) drove a slider from Cobras starter Lin Ying-jeh (林英傑) over the left field fence.
The 1-0 Bear lead was short-lived as the Cobras offense rung up four straight in the top of the second against Bears lefty Hsu Yu-wei (
Poor run production once again hurt the Bears in the 5-2 final.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
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