Yu Hsien-ming's 3-for-4 night with a run and an RBI led a fierce Bulls attack that resulted in a 7-2 victory over the President Lions in Tienmu Saturday.
The red-hot switch-hitting outfielder for the Bulls who won the game MVP honor for the second straight game, has gone a combined 6-for-9 with four RBIs in the three games against the Lions this week to raise his batting average 53 points to a respectable .253.
Bulls starter Yang Jien-fu did not have his breaking ball working early in the game, as he allowed a run in each of the first two innings to fall behind 2-0.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CPBL
But his offense was able to come up with three runs by the end of the fourth to give the struggling righty a 3-2 lead before breaking the game wide open in the seventh inning with four more runs for Yang's third win of the season.
"I guess I really lucked out today, being able to win without having my breaking stuff working," Yang said.
Lions starter Eric Cyr dropped his second straight game after winning three of four starts in April, for allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits over 6-1/3 innings of play.
Whales 7, Cobras 3
Four seventh-inning runs by the Chinatrust Whales broke a 3-all tie against the Macoto Cobras at Sinjhuang Saturday, handing the Whales a 7-3 win a 2-2 series split.
Batting cleanup for the first time in his six-year career, Whales outfielder Chi Jung-lin ripped a two-run single off Cobras ace Lin "Little Chick" En-yu with the bases loaded to trigger a four-run Whales rally, handing Lin his third loss of the season.
After the serpents jumped to a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on slugger Hsieh "The Ugly" Jia-shien's RBI single off Whales starter Chu Wei-ming. The Whales answered with a three-run fourth, led by designated hitter Tseng Han-chou's two-run single, also with the bases loaded, to claim a 3-1 advantage.
It took a two-run single by Hsieh off Whales set-up man Shen Yu-jeh in the bottom of the sixth to force a 3-3 tie before the Whales went ahead for good with a highly productive seventh inning.
Two innings of shutout relief work by Shen not only extended the second-year left hander's scoreless inning streak to seven straight innings over a four-game stretch.
Chi was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Manager Lee Lai-fa recently put the former leadoff man in the cleanup position and Chi has quietly responded by surpassing several big-name sluggers to become the league's No. 3 hitter with a .380 batting average and 41 total hits.
American League
AP, NEW YORK
Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer, Derek Jeter also connected and the New York Yankees got a useful start from Jaret Wright in a 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.
Wright (1-2) held Oakland's slumping lineup in check into the sixth inning, helping the Yankees improve to 12-0 in day games. He got strong relief work from Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth, who worked around Jeter's ninth-inning error to earn his first save with New York.
The A's have lost four straight, matching a season high, and seven of 10. They did get slugger Eric Chavez (infection) and catcher Jason Kendall (suspension) back after both missed the previous four games. Chavez went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, stranding six runners. Kendall had an RBI single.
Making his third start for the A's in place of injured Rich Harden, Brad Halsey (1-2) gave up four runs, five hits and four walks in 4 1-3 innings.
Orioles 11, Royals 1
At Baltimore, Kris Benson allowed one run in seven innings, Ramon Hernandez and Javy Lopez both homered and drove in three runs, and Baltimore beat Kansas City to claim its first winning streak in May.
Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora also homered for the Orioles, who hadn't won two in a row since April 28-29. The victory, combined with Friday's win over Kansas City, assured Baltimore its first series win in eight tries.
Tejada hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to put the Orioles up 5-1. Hernandez, Lopez and Mora connected in a six-run eighth against Chris Booker.
Benson (5-3) gave up four hits, struck out five and walked one. The right-hander was coming off a miserable performance in Boston, where he allowed nine runs in 4 1-3 innings.
Mark Redman (0-3) remained winless since July 24.
Blue Jays 8, Devil Rays 1
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Roy Halladay pitched a three-hitter to help Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
Halladay (5-1) was coming off a four-hitter in the Blue Jays' 5-1 win on Monday over the Los Angeles Angels. He improved to 4-0 in five starts since missing time due to a right forearm strain in mid-April. The 2003 American League Cy Young Award winner struck out three and walked one.
Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells homered and Alex Rios had two RBIs for Toronto, which won for the third time in its last eight road games.
Tampa Bay got a fourth-inning solo homer from Jonny Gomes. The Devil Rays have scored five runs or less in 13 consecutive games.
Tampa Bay's Mark Hendrickson (2-3) gave up five runs and five hits in seven innings.
Tigers 3, Indians 0
At Cleveland, Jeremy Bonderman pitched three-hit ball through eight innings and Chris Shelton homered to help Detroit extend Cleveland's losing streak to a season-high five games.
Shelton, who hadn't homered in 41 at-bats since April 28, hit his 11th of the year on a 2-0 pitch from C.C. Sabathia (2-1) leading off the third inning.
The Tigers improved the best road record in MLB to 15-7. They have not finished with a winning road mark since a 41-40 mark in 1993 -- going 359-601 (.374) away from Detroit since then.
The Indians' skid is their longest since losing five in a row last July.
Bonderman (4-2) didn't allow a hit until Todd Hollandsworth doubled to the wall in left-center with two outs in the fifth.
Todd Jones gave up a pair of two-out singles in the ninth before getting Hollandsworth to line out to center field for his ninth save in 10 tries -- and second in two nights.
Twins 8, White Sox 4
At Minneapolis, Justin Morneau's two-run single followed Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen's ejection and capped a five-run fifth inning for Minnesota.
Luis Castillo went 3-for-5 with a home run, and everyone in the lineup had at least one hit for the Twins, who have won six of their last seven games. They overcame a 4-0 deficit with six singles and a disputed hit batter in a disastrous fifth for the White Sox and starter Javier Vazquez (4-2).
Brad Radke (4-4) was the beneficiary, evening his record despite an ERA which dipped slightly to 7.57. Most of Chicago's well-hit balls were right at somebody, as evidenced by three sacrifice flies.
Scott Podsednik tripled, singled and scored twice for Chicago, which has lost three straight. Owners of the best record in MLB (23-12), the White Sox have only two losing streaks this season. The other was a four-game skid in early April.
Mariners 5, Angels 4, 13 innings
At Anaheim, California, Richie Sexson homered in the 13th inning, and Seattle also got solo homers from Yuniesky Betancourt and Jeremy Reed.
Sexson's fourth homer of the season upstaged Tim Salmon's 1,000th career RBI for Los Angeles, along with an intriguing pitching matchup between John Lackey and Seattle's Jarrod Washburn -- who dressed side-by-side for four seasons in the Angels clubhouse and won a World Series together in 2002.
The game-winning shot to center field came on a 3-1 pitch from Kevin Gregg (2-2), who relieved J.C. Romero with one out and the bases empty.
George Sherrill (1-1) pitched two hitless innings for the victory and former Angels reliever Jake Woods got three outs for his first major league save, giving up a two-out double to Vladimir Guerrero before getting Salmon to fly out.
National League
AP, SAN FRANCISCO
Barry Bonds spent another day stuck at 713 home runs by going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in the San Francisco Giants' 6-5 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bonds, one homer behind Babe Ruth for second place on the Major League Baseball career list, wasn't around to celebrate Omar Vizquel's winning sacrifice fly to right after Jason Ellison replaced him in left field in the top of the ninth.
The Giants scored four runs in the ninth against Danys Baez (2-2), also getting RBI singles from Lance Niekro and pinch-hitter Dan Ortmeier and a run-scoring double by Todd Greene. Jose Vizcaino entered to run for Greene at third and scored the winning run. Vizquel was immediately mobbed near first -- Bonds nowhere to be seen.
Bonds hasn't homered in five games since hitting No. 713 with a 450-foot shot last Sunday in Philadelphia, and manager Felipe Alou even moved him up from the cleanup spot to No. 3 in the order in an effort to get him going.
But Bonds is hitless in his last 13 at-bats with five walks.
Los Angeles' Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to eight games with a solo home run to left in the third for his seventh straight game driving in a run, then drew a bases-loaded walk from Scott Munter in the seventh for another RBI.
Armando Benitez (2-0) pitched the ninth for the win.
Padres 4, Cubs 3
At Chicago, Mike Piazza hit a three-run homer off Ryan Dempster in the ninth inning, and surging San Diego rallied for its 13th victory in 14 games.
Mike Cameron led off the ninth with a single to center, and Brian Giles followed with a base hit to right. Piazza then hit his fourth homer, pulling an 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall to make it 4-3.
Chicago has lost 13 of 15 games.
The blown save was the first in eight opportunities for Dempster (0-1). It spoiled a terrific start by Greg Maddux, who allowed an unearned run in 7 1-3 innings. Maddux left to a standing ovation with two runners on and a run in. Scott Eyre relieved, and pinch hitter Eric Young grounded into a double play.
San Diego starter Chris Young allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits, walked three and struck out four in seven innings. Cla Meredith (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth.
Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save in as many opportunities.
Phillies 2, Reds 0
At Cincinnati, Jon Lieber took a perfect game into the seventh inning and gave up two hits in 8 2-3 innings to help Philadelphia beat Cincinnati.
Lieber (3-4) didn't allow a walk and struck out six to earn his third straight win.
The 36-year-old right-hander retired the first 20 batters he faced before Adam Dunn lined a single up the middle past shortstop Jimmy Rollins with two outs in the seventh inning.
The only other hit Lieber gave up was a two-out single to pinch-hitter Ken Griffey Jr. in the ninth inning. Tom Gordon got the final out for his 12th save in 13 opportunities.
Dave Williams (2-3) allowed two runs, five hits and no walks with five strikeouts in 8 1-3 innings, his longest outing of the season.
Cardinals 9, Diamondbacks 1
At St. Louis, Albert Pujols became the fastest player in major league history to reach 19 home runs.
Pujols reached the milestone in his 37th game, beating Mickey Mantle in 1956 and Luis Gonzalez of the Diamondbacks in 2001, by three games. Pujols added RBI singles in the first and fourth, hiking his major league-leading total to 47, and flied out to the warning track in center field in the sixth.
He also struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh against Brandon Medders, flipping his bat in disgust.
Pujols' heroics overshadowed a resurgent effort by Jason Marquis (4-4), who worked seven strong innings to end a four-game losing streak, and a five-RBI game by Scott Rolen. The RBIs for Rolen, including a three-run homer in the first, were his first since April 16.
St. Louis has won seven of eight overall and is 14-3 against Arizona over the last four seasons. It knocked out Claudio Vargas (4-2), who did not allow a run in his first two road starts, after beginning the third with three straight hits.
Marlins 4, Pirates 3
At Pittsburgh, Miguel Cabrera doubled twice and Scott Olsen bounced back from his worst start of the season to strike out nine over six innings, in a matchup of the National League's two worst teams.
Florida became the last team in the majors to reach double digits in victories, winning its 10th in 34 games and only its second in eight. Pittsburgh lost its major league-high 26th in 37 games despite Jose Bautista's first career home run.
The left-handed Olsen (2-2) gave up Bautista's two-run drive in the second and Craig Wilson's run-scoring triple in the sixth, but also pitched out of several jams.
Matt Herges and Logan Kensing pitched a scoreless relief inning apiece before Joe Borowski finished up in the ninth for his fifth save in as many opportunities. Kensing struck out Paulino to end the eighth with two runners on.
Pirates starter Zach Duke (2-3) gave up eight hits and four runs in six innings.
Mets 9, Brewers 8
At Milwaukee, Paul Lo Duca hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the top of ninth off Derrick Turnbow to give New York the win.
Lo Duca sent the 1-0 pitch from Turnbow (0-1) over the right-field wall, giving the right-hander his first loss since April 2005.
Jose Valentin homered and drove in four runs and Carlos Beltran added a three-run shot for New York, which squandered a chance to give Jeremi Gonzalez his first win exactly a year between major league starts.
Chad Bradford (2-1) got two outs to pick up the win, and Billy Wagner pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 11 opportunities.
Mets manager Willie Randolph was ejected in a wild eighth inning that began with Valentin's two-run homer to give New York an 8-4 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Corey Koskie hit a three-run homer off reliever Duaner Sanchez and Damian Miller hit a solo shot on the next pitch to tie the score 8-all.
Rockies 2, Astros 1
At Houston, Luis Gonzalez and Todd Helton hit RBI singles, Aaron Cook pitched 6 1-3 strong innings, and Colorado ended a season-high three-game losing streak.
Colorado beat Roy Oswalt for the first time, jumping on the Houston starter for four hits and two runs in the third inning. Oswalt had won all five of his previous starts against the Rockies.
He was outpitched by Cook (4-3), who allowed five hits and one run while striking out six. Brian Fuentes struck out two in a perfect ninth for his ninth save.
Oswalt (5-3) allowed eight hits, struck out four and walked one in seven innings.
Braves 8, Nationals 5
At Atlanta, Jeff Francoeur hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, rallying Atlanta over Washington.
The Braves trailed 5-3 heading to their final at-bat, and the Nationals summoned Chad Cordero from the bullpen to finish it off.
Brian McCann led off with a homer, followed by sharp singles from Ryan Langerhans and Marcus Giles. Edgar Renteria, Atlanta's leading hitter, attempted to bunt the runners over but Cordero managed to get a force on Langerhans at third. After Chipper Jones loaded the bases with an infield single, Cordero (1-1) got a called third strike on Andruw Jones before Francoeur drove a 1-0 pitch into the left-field stands.
Chris Reitsma (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth as the Braves won for the fifth time in six games.
Alfonso Soriano hit two-run homer and Matt LeCroy added a solo shot for the Nationals, who were on verge of handing Jorge Sosa his sixth straight loss.
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
Two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday avenged her shock Paris Olympics loss to Zheng Qinwen with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Chinese eighth seed, setting up a semi-final against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the California desert. In the men’s singles, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz put on a show with his acrobatic shotmaking under the lights to close out the day’s action, overcoming a 4-1 second-set deficit to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the women’s doubles. Swiatek, one of the gold medal favorites when she lost to eventual champion Zheng in the
RSS