Wang Hsin-min's eighth-inning bloop single off reliever Chen Yang-kai with a runner on second drove in the go-ahead run for the Chinatrust Whales as they rallied from a late-game deficit to edge past the Sinon Bulls 2-1 in Tienmu on Saturday night.
After seven futile innings against the stellar pitching of Sinon starter Takekiyo Kouji and reliever Yu Wen-pin in a 1-0 game, the Whales offense finally came through with three clutch hits against the Bulls to win their second game in as many days.
Whales starter Tseng Jau-hao was on the verge of losing another quality start after an unearned run against the staff ace in the top of the third set his team back by a run in a tight 1-0 affair. But his patience with the late-blooming offense finally paid off this time to give Tseng his tenth win of the season with a three-hit gem.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Yu Hsien-ming's sacrifice-fly off Tseng in the top of the third knocked in teammate Yeh Jung-chang, who reached second on a throwing error by Whales third baseman Wu Hso-fang. Yeh then scored on a bunt by Cheng Jau-han for the Bulls' first run of the game.
That was all the offense that either club managed to produce in the standoff between Tseng and his counterpart Takekiyo until the Whales' eighth-inning rally.
Shen Yu-jeh entered the game one out into the bottom of the ninth in relief of Tseng and induced two fly-ball outs to secure the victory for his team with his sixth save of the year.
PHOTO: AP
The loss by the Bulls, coupled with the La New Bears win in Kaohsiung on the same night widened the gap between the top two squads in the latest standings by a full game, with the league-leading Bears enjoying a three-and-a-half game cushion over the second-place Bulls with less than 20 games remaining in the season.
Cobras 5, Bears 7
Four sixth-inning runs by the La New Bears broke open an otherwise close game against the Macoto Cobras, giving Bears lefty ace Wu Si-yo his 15th win of the season.
The battle between the two former Taiwan Major League teams was dead even at 2-all through the top of the fourth before Chen Fong-min's run-scoring liner up the middle in the bottom the fourth put the Bears up 3-2.
A four-run sixth gave the Bears a 7-2 lead before the Cobras connected for three runs over the final two innings as they went on to win 7-5.
Wu allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out 10 Cobras over six solid innings for the win, beating Macoto starter Robert Averett, whose Taiwan debut was far from acceptable. The newly acquired American right-hander gave up five runs, all earned, on eight hits, including a leadoff homer to Bears slugger Chen Chin-fong in the bottom of the second for his 18th of the year.
Offensively for the Cobras, team captain Chiou Chang-rong's 3-for-5 night with three RBIs and a home run off Wu was the lone spotlight on the night. Both of the runs surrendered by Wu in the game came by ways of Chiou; the first via a second-inning solo blast and the second on a two-out single in the top of the fourth.
The win by Wu tied him with teammate Kenny Rayborn of the US for the league's lead for wins as the emerging righty-lefty combo has accounted for 30 of the Bears' 51 victories thus far.
American League
Justin Morneau hit a three-run homer, Torii Hunter also connected and the Minnesota Twins beat the New York Yankees 6-1 in a game called during the eighth inning because of rain on Saturday.
Scott Baker (4-7) shut down New York's loaded lineup for the second time this season, pitching the Twins to only their second victory in their past 14 games at Yankee Stadium. Baker allowed only two hits in five innings.
Minnesota, which remains a half-game behind Chicago in the American League wild-card race, had lost four of five. But after scoring no more than three runs in their previous five games, the Twins outhit New York 10-2 and got effective work from a pair of relievers.
The Yankees remained eight games ahead of second-place Boston in the AL East.
After scoring no more than three runs in their previous five games, the Twins outhit New York 10-2.
Rookie Jeff Karstens (1-1) impressed in his Yankee Stadium debut, giving up only two runs and six hits in seven innings.
Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 1
At Boston, A.J. Burnett pitched a three-hit complete game and Frank Catalanotto had an RBI double to lift Toronto. Catalanotto had a pair of doubles and Aaron Hill homered for Toronto, which snapped a five-game losing streak. It was Boston's 13th loss in 17 games.
Orioles 6, Athletics 5
At Oakland, California, Miguel Tejada and Chris Gomez drove in two runs apiece and Baltimore ended Oakland's 10-game home winning streak. Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis also drove in runs for the Orioles. Adam Loewen (5-4) improved to 3-0 in his last four starts.
White Sox 5, Royals 3
At Kansas City, Missouri, Mark Buehrle pitched six solid innings and Joe Crede drove in two runs to help Chicago get the win over Kansas City. Buehrle improved to 3-1 in his last four starts after a run in which he went 0-6 with two no-decisions in his previous eight outings.
Angels 7, Tigers 2, 10 innings
At Detroit, Chone Figgins' bases-loaded triple keyed a five-run 10th inning that gave Los Angeles a victory over Detroit.
Indians 6, Rangers 5
At Arlington, Texas, Kevin Kouzmanoff hit the first major league pitch he faced for a grand slam and Cleveland extended its winning streak to five games with a win over Texas.
Mariners 4, Devil Rays 3
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Baek Cha-seung allowed one run over 6 2-3 innings as Seattle overcame a triple play to stop a 12-game road losing streak. Baek (2-0) gave up six hits, one walk and had four strikeouts. J.J. Putz pitched two innings to earn his 29th save, but made things interesting by giving up a two-out solo homer to Ben Zobrist in the ninth.
National League
Barry Bonds hit his 728th career homer, Ray Durham and Moises Alou connected on back-to-back shots in the sixth and Matt Cain pitched 7 2-3 innings to lead the San Francisco Giants over the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Saturday.
Bonds, booed as he came to bat each time, drove Sean Marshall's 3-2 pitch into the right-field seats with two outs in the fourth to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Bonds' fourth homer in the last 10 games was his 20th of the season.
Facing Marshall (5-9) again in the sixth, Bonds walked with two outs and Durham followed with a two-run shot to left, his 21st of the season. One pitch later, Alou hit another drive to the left-field seats, and the Giants led 4-1.
Derrek Lee hit his first homer since June off Giants reliever Armando Benitez in the ninth, and Mike Stanton relieved to get his fourth save in six chances.
Cain (11-9) yielded four hits, walked two and struck out seven.
Braves 4, Phillies 3, 1st game
Phillies 16, Braves 4, 2nd game
At Philadelphia, Mike Lieberthal homered and drove in four runs, helping Philadelphia split a doubleheader with Atlanta. In the opener, Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homer off Arthur Rhodes in the ninth inning to lead Atlanta to a victory.
Nationals 7, Diamondbacks 6, 1st
Nationals 4, Diamondbacks 3, 2nD
At Washington, Austin Kearns and Ryan Zimmerman homered to lead Washington over Livan Hernandez and Arizona, completing a sweep of the day-night doubleheader. The Nationals rallied in both games to extend their winning streak over the Diamondbacks at RFK Stadium to five.
Mets 4, Astros 2
At Houston, Cliff Floyd had a double and two RBIs in his return from the disabled list to back rookie John Maine's strong pitching and New York beat Houston.
Pirates 1, Cardinals 0
At St. Louis, Shawn Chacon and two relievers combined on an eight-hitter and Ronny Paulino hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to give Pittsburgh a victory over St. Louis.
Marlins 9, Brewers 6, 10 innings
At Milwaukee, Alfredo Amezaga singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and Florida extended Milwaukee's losing streak to a season-high nine games.
Padres 7, Reds 1
At San Diego, Jake Peavy threw a two-hitter, matching his career-best, and struck out 14 as San Diego trounced Cincinnati.
Dodgers 14, Rockies 5
At Los Angeles, Nomar Garciaparra hit a three-run homer and a three-run double to help Brad Penny become the NL's first 15-game winner, and the Dodgers hammered the Rockies. J.D. Drew and rookie James Loney also homered for the NL West leaders, who have a four-game lead on second-place San Diego. The Dodgers have won seven straight and are 26-7 since a 1-13 stretch following the All-Star break.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS