Shaky pitching against a powerful President Lions' lineup dealt the Brother Elephants three straight losses last week, making them the only winless club in the league.
The Elephants pitching staff hasn't been able to win even with the offense averaging over five runs per game.
On opening day, starting pitcher Jonathan Hurst of the US was one throw away from pocketing a win, when the Lions' Israel Alscantara jumped all over a high pitch in the top of the first for a three-run shot in a 5-4 final.
Game 2 starter Harold Woodman had a 3-1 lead when he was pulled after the third inning with an injury.
The Lions quickly cranked up their offense, registering four runs during the fourth inning against reliever Chuang Pei-chuen.
"There is no doubt that we have some holes to fill in our staff, especially if you count out the starters," Hurst said after the game.
"Even though we need to do something about our mid-relief, everyone knows good starting pitching will win you some games in this league."
Whales versus Cobras
The Chinatrust Whales missed a four-game sweep of the Macoto Cobras by one run to finish the week 3-1.
After beating the serpents 3-1 on Tuesday and 9-1 on Wednesday, the Whales fell 2-1 on Friday before coming back strong with an 8-3 win on Saturday.
Friday's contest at Hsinchuang was a pitching duel, with four Cobras pitchers combining to hold the Whales to only four hits for the day.
Whales rookie Du Chang-wei turned in a solid performance in the loss, going the distance -- allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out four and walking four.
The Cobras win was credited to Dominican newcomer Enrique Ramirez, who held the Whales to one run on one hit over five innings, before three relievers were called on to preserve the victory.
BULLS VERSUS BEARS
Inconsistent starting pitching caught up to the Sinon Bulls in their final game of the series against the La New Bears on Sunday, when they were beaten by the Bears 3-1 in the series finale.
The defending champions won 6-2 in Game 1 on Thursday, behind a strong outing by lefty Jeff Andra of the US.
On Saturday, the Bulls eked out a 4-3 win when reliever Kuo Yung-chih bailed out starter Osvaldo Martinez with three innings of relief work that allowed the opposition no runs.
Newly acquired righty Walter Silva of Mexico made sure his Bears would come out ahead against Bulls starter Yu Wen-pin for their first win of the year by shutting down the Bulls' offense with a one-hit effort over seven magnificent innings.
It was not until the top of the ninth inning that the Bulls managed to break up the shutout on Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan's run-scoring line drive up the middle to send teammate Tseng Hua-wei back to home plate for the winning run.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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