Chang Tai-shan
The 29-year-old slugger, in his 11th season as a professional, took a high pitch from Elephants starter Joe Dawley of the US and deposited it into the leftfield seats for a two-run shot in the top of the first inning to give the visiting Bulls a quick 2-0 lead.
The Bulls doubled their 2-0 lead in the seventh inning with catcher Yeh Jung-chang's two-run double up the middle off Elephants reliever Hsiao Ren-wen after the first two Bulls hitters opened the inning with consecutive singles.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SINON BULLS
Limited to three scattered singles over eight scoreless innings, the Elephants finally got on the board in the top of the ninth on pinch-hitter Chen Guan-ren's RBI groundout after Chen "The Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan was hit by a pitch to reach first and a base hit by Peng "Chia Chia" Cheng-min put runners at the corners to start off the inning.
Bulls reliever Kuo Yong-chih got the last two outs of the game for his first save of the year to preserve the win for starter Jorge Cortez, who improved to 4-1 with 8-1/3 innings of outstanding effort.
Taking the tough loss was the Elephants' Dawley, who allowed two runs on six hits in as many innings in his Taiwanese debut.
Bulls 3, Elephants 0
The shutout that did not happen for the Bulls on Thursday came one day later as the defending champs blanked the Elephants in Game 2 of the series 3-0 on Friday night.
Dominican righty Alfredo Gonzalez followed Cortez's lead with eight innings of four-hit ball before reliever Yu Wen-pin kept the shutout intact with a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season.
The low-scoring affair in Hsinchu had Elephants rookie starter Liao Yu-cheng matching Gonzalez's four-hit gem with seven outstanding innings of shutout ball on three hits and seven strikeouts.
But the opportunistic Bulls were able to exploit a defensive error in the game-deciding eighth inning by plating three runs, highlighted by veteran infielder Huang Chung-yi's two-run single off reliever Chuang Pei-chuan.
Lions 5, Cobras 1
Pan "Du Du" Wei-luen tossed eight strong innings of shutout ball to help the President Lions top the Macoto Cobras 5-1 at Sinjhuang on Friday.
The 2003 Rookie of the Year struck out four and walked none while allowing seven hits in his best outing over the last three starts for his first win since mid-April.
Six different Lions had multi-hit games, with a total of 15 hits, led by Venezuelan infielder Luis Ugueto and American slugger Bryant Nelson.
Cobras starter Hsu Chu-jien took the loss in his first game since returning from an arm injury in April, after allowing three runs on eight hits in five innings of work.
American League
With a seven-run lead and a chance to give Mike Mussina a break, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre didn't think twice about going to his bullpen.
Then the relievers, including Mariano Rivera, almost gave the game away on Friday night.
"Luckily, we had a big lead," Torre said after New York held on for an 8-7 victory at Texas, ending the Rangers' six-game winning streak.
Mussina was pulled after allowing only his third hit, a single by Kevin Mench to start the eighth on the right-hander's 86th pitch. Mench's RBI single off the fourth pitcher in the inning finally capped the six-run outburst.
"At the time, I didn't think about it either way," Mussina said about being pulled. "I'm going to throw a lot of pitches over the course of the year. Could I have thrown 10 or 12 or 15 more? Yeah, probably.
"If the guys behind me would have come in and been smooth, nobody would have thought anything of it."
It was anything but.
Aaron Small allowed three singles and three runs, facing only four batters. Kyle Farnsworth struck out Mark Teixeira with the bases loaded, then walked Phil Nevin before Rivera took over and allowed Hank Blalock's two-run single.
"When they started scoring those runs, it was like a snowball," said Alex Rodriguez, who drove in three runs against his former team. "That reminds you of two things: how much their guys can hit and how well Mussina pitched."
After Mench's RBI single, Rivera hit a batter before finally getting Rod Barajas on an inning-ending fielder's choice with the bases still loaded. Rivera worked the ninth to finish his sixth save in seven chances.
"We don't want it to go that way, but that's baseball," Rivera said. "That happens."
Mussina (5-1) threw 62 of his season-low 86 pitches for strikes for his 229th career victory, fourth most among active pitchers. He struck out five, didn't walk a batter and was charged with two runs.
"He was terrific, threw a lot of strikes, got a lot of first-pitch outs and changed speeds. I love it," Torre said. "All said and done, we won the game and didn't have to drain our horse."
Especially with Mussina scheduled to start against the Boston Red Sox next week.
Derek Jeter was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and scored twice for the Yankees, who moved five games over .500 for the first time this season at 16-11.
Brad Wilkerson extended his hitting streak to eight games with a leadoff triple in the third over Johnny Damon's head in center field. Wilkerson was the only Texas runner to get past first while Mussina was on the mound, and scored when Barajas grounded out.
For the first time in 11 games -- eight of them victories -- the Yankees never trailed.
Rangers starter Vicente Padilla (3-2) gave up consecutive singles to Damon and Jeter to start a 39-pitch first inning. The right-hander walked three in the frame, including Jorge Posada with the bases loaded for a 2-0 lead after Rodriguez reached on a fielder's choice that drove in a run.
Padilla retired seven in a row after walking Posada, but the Yankees batted around against Padilla in the fourth before he was finally pulled after Rodriguez made it 7-1 with a two-run single.
"We dug ourselves a pretty big hole early on, but almost got out of it," manager Buck Showalter said.
Royals 5, White Sox 4
With only five runs in their previous four games and their frustrated owner promising to shake things up, the Kansas City Royals staged a memorable ninth-inning rally in Chicago.
And now they have two straight road wins after losing their first 12 away from home.
"Whenever you score three or four runs off those guys anytime in the game, it's something special," Matt Stairs said Friday when his two-run, bases-loaded single capped a four-run ninth that led to a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox.
"It's good when you've got seven wins," Stairs added.
And that's what the Royals have now to go with 20 losses. And three of those victories have come against the defending World Series champions, but none more satisfying than Friday's.
"There is no easy team in baseball. They got speed and they pitched well against us," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said after his team lost for just the fifth time in 24 games.
"With Buddy Bell, those guys are not going to give up. I know what type of manager he is. I know what type person he is. He is not going to let those guys down. He's not going to sit there and let those guys relax. He's going to be pushing all the way to the end."
Joe Crede's solo homer in the eighth off Elmer Dessens (2-1) put Chicago up 2-1, but the White Sox's bullpen couldn't hold it in the ninth when three relievers issued four walks.
Kerry Robinson had a go-ahead single before Stairs polished off the rally that put the Royals up 5-2.
Jim Thome hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Ambiorix Burgos to cut the lead to one. Burgos put two more on but got Rob Mackowiak to flyout to end it and collect his fourth save.
Red Sox 6, Orioles 3
At Boston, Curt Schilling moved into a tie for the American League lead with his fifth win and David Ortiz put Boston ahead with a three-run double, leading the Red Sox over the Baltimore Orioles 6-3.
Schilling (5-1) rebounded from his only loss of the season, allowing three runs and eight hits in seven innings. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter. Schilling didn't win his fifth game until Aug. 19 last season, when he was slowed by an injured right ankle.
Ortiz, hitless in his previous 11 at-bats, cleared the bases in the four-run sixth when Boston took a 6-3 lead. It was his first hit since a three-run homer produced the final runs in Monday's 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 12th save in 12 opportunities.
Kevin Youkilis also homered for Boston.
Kevin Millar, Boston's first baseman for the previous three seasons who left after the Red Sox declined to pursue him in free agency, went 2-for-3 with a run but Baltimore lost its ninth straight game to Boston, including four this year.
Rodrigo Lopez (1-4) took the loss.
Blue Jays 13, Angels 3
At Toronto, Russ Adams homered and drove in four runs for Toronto.
Blue Jays catcher Bengie Molina went 1-for-3 in his first game against his former team. California starter Ervin Santana plunked Molina with a pitch in the fifth, prompting a smile from Bengie's brother Jose, the Angels' catcher. Troy Glaus went 3-for-4 in his first game against his former club, and the Blue Jays finished with 17 hits.
Adams hit a three-run homer off Esteban Yan in the seventh. Frank Catalanotto also homered for the Blue Jays, who tied a season high for runs.
Gustavo Chacin (5-1) allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings, sending the Angels to their seventh loss in eight games.
Santana (2-1) gave up six runs, nine hits and four walks in four innings.
National League
Barry Bonds remained two homers behind Babe Ruth's 714, but Ryan Howard and Chase Utley homered twice to lead the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Francisco Giants 8-3 for their sixth straight victory.
Aaron Rowand also connected to back Gavin Floyd (3-2), who gave up three runs and nine hits in six-plus innings.
Bonds went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and one intentional walk. Omar Vizquel and Randy Winn homered for the Giants, who lost right fielder Moises Alou to a sprained right ankle.
Matt Cain (1-4) allowed six runs and nine hits -- four of them homers -- in four innings.
Cardinals 7, Marlins 2
At Miami, Albert Pujols hit his 16th home run, Jeff Suppan won his third consecutive start and St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak.
Playing in his team's 30th game, Pujols tied Cy Williams of the 1923 Philadelphia Phillies for the fewest games needed to reach 16 homers. His drive sparked a seven-run fifth inning for the Cardinals.
Suppan (3-2) pitched 8 1-3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs. He struck out four and walked three. After St. Louis gave him a lead, he retired 10 in a row.
Sergio Mitre (1-4) lost his fourth consecutive decision for the Marlins. He allowed 11 hits and seven runs in 4 1-3 innings.
Mets 8, Braves 7, 14 innings
At New York, David Wright doubled home Carlos Beltran with the winning run in the 14th inning for the Mets.
The hit was the third of the night for Wright, who broke out of a 1-for-19 slump with four hits Thursday night. Beltran had walked and reached second on a passed ball before Wright delivered against Jorge Sosa (0-5), who had been scheduled to start Sunday.
The win was the third straight for New York and the third straight loss for Atlanta, dropping the Braves eight games behind the Mets in the NL East. New York (20-9) is 11 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2000 season.
The teams traded leadoff home runs in the 11th.
Pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit homered in the 11th for Atlanta.
Jose Reyes had a career-high five hits and Cliff Floyd homered in the 11th for New York. Jorge Julio (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning to get the win.
Rockies 5, Astros 4
At Denver, Jamey Carroll drew a bases-loaded walk from Dan Wheeler in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Rockies the win.
Astros closer Brad Lidge (0-2) blew his third save in 12 chances. He entered with a 4-3 lead but gave up a leadoff double to Brad Hawpe, who scored the tying run when third baseman Morgan Ensberg overthrew first base on Clint Barmes' sacrifice bunt.
Ramon Ramirez (2-0) allowed one hit and struck out three in two innings to get the win.
Preston Wilson's three RBIs staked Houston's Taylor Buchholz to a 4-0 lead in his fourth major league start. He allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in seven-plus innings.
Padres 1, Cubs 0, 11 innings
At San Diego, Rookie Josh Barfield singled in Khalil Greene with one out in the 11th inning to lift the Padres to their sixth straight win.
San Diego won by shutout for the second straight night, having beaten the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Thursday night.
The Cubs were shut out for the second straight night and for the fourth time in six games. They've lost four straight, and have scored only five runs in their last seven games.
Greene started the winning rally when he drew a walk off Scott Williamson (2-2) leading off the 11th, then stole second with one out. Barfield then singled in Greene.
Scott Cassidy (2-0) got the final two outs of the 11th for the win.
Padres starter Chan Ho Park allowed only two hits in nine scoreless innings. Carlos Zambrano struck out 10 in seven shutout innings for the Cubs.
Dodgers 4, Brewers 3
At Los Angeles, Nomar Garciaparra singled in Rafael Furcal with one out in the ninth inning and Los Angeles beat Milwaukee after blowing a three-run lead.
Russell Martin doubled home two runs and tagged out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in his major league debut, helping the Dodgers snap a five-game losing streak.
Furcal led off the ninth with an infield single against Matt Wise (2-2). He advanced on a sacrifice by Jose Cruz Jr. and came home when Garciaparra hit a 1-1 pitch up the first-base line. The ball kicked off the bag and past Prince Fielder.
Danys Baez (1-1) pitched 1 2-3 innings for the win despite giving up the tying run on a wild pitch in the eighth.
Major League Baseball is using specially marked balls for Barry Bonds' at-bats now that he is closing in on Babe Ruth.
Bonds has 712 home runs, two short of tying Ruth for second place on the career list. The marked balls were first put into play during the San Francisco slugger's at-bats Friday, when he and the Giants lost 8-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Originally, the commissioner's office did not plan to mark any balls while Bonds is chasing Ruth. But Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, decided late Thursday it was best to authenticate any potentially historic home run balls hit by Bonds, spokesman Pat Courtney said.
That way, the fans who might catch No. 713, No. 714 and No. 715 will be able to prove they have the real thing, avoiding multiple claims of ownership.
Kendall suspended
Oakland Athletics catcher Jason Kendall was suspended for four games for charging the mound and Los Angeles Angels pitcher John Lackey was fined on Friday for his actions in the altercation.
Kendall also was fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball three days after going after Lackey in a game at Anaheim. Kendall appealed the suspension and was in the lineup as the A's opened a three-game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Friday.
Kendall said he would have his appeal heard when the team is in New York to play the Yankees starting next Friday, and MLB executive vice president John McHale Jr. handles those meetings.
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