The Brother Elephants opened their 2008 season with an impressive performance as they tamed the President Lions in an 8-0 shutout at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Wednesday evening.
Starter Liao Yu-cheng tossed a two-hit gem with 11 strikeouts in his first career complete-game shutout win, while fellow sluggers Chen "Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan and Chen Guan-ren knocked in three runs on a combined 3-for-7 to lead the men in their familiar golden uniform in a rambunctious start.
The visiting Elephants needed only three at-bats to break the ice as the "Golden Warrior" ripped a lining single up the middle off Lions starter Chang Chih-chiang to score Huang Cheng-wei, who led off the game with a walk and reached second to score a fielder's choice.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Two of the next three Elephants hitters also connected with base hits off Chang to quickly make it 4-0 in favor of the Elephants.
After Brother added another run in the top of the second on an RBI-groundout by Chen Guan-ren to help his team lead it 5-0, the game suddenly turned into a pitchers' duel over the next six innings as neither offense was able to solve Liao and Chang until the top of the ninth with the Elephants mustering three consecutive two-out singles off Lions reliever Tsao Jung-yang to make it 8-0.
The Lions were not totally out of the game in this one, as they managed to have runners in scoring position in three different innings with Liao issuing six walks on the night. But none of the runners were able to reach home, as Liao would promptly come through with clutch strikeouts or induce timely grounders to allow the Elephants defense to turn a pair of double plays to keep the shutout intact.
Suffering the loss on the Lions' behalf was Chang, who did not pitch as poorly as the final score would indicate. Two of his five allowed runs over seven-plus innings were unearned owing to two defensive errors.
Bears 6, T-Rex 4
A pair of costly errors by the dmedia T-Rex defense that led to four unanswered runs for the La New Bears in the bottom of the eighth turned a 2-4 deficit into a 6-4 win for the Bears in Kaohsiung on Wednesday night.
Failure to cover second by T-Rex second baseman Huang Shih-hao on a routine grounder to short, all with two outs, triggered a series of bad throws by the dmedia defense ultimately scored the tying runs for the home Bears before they went ahead with two more in the same inning to lead it 6-4.
That was all Bears closer Tsai Ying-fong needed to pick up his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth to preserve the win for fellow bullpen mate Lee Fong-hua, who one-hit the T-Rex over four scoreless innings of sound relief.
Offensively for the victorious Bears, five different hitters collected multi-hit games, with team captain Huang "Easy" Long-yi leading the pack with three and an RBI.
Tagged with the loss in a game dmedia should have won was reliever Chen Jien-fu, who allowed all four of the Bears runs in the decisive eighth (only one earned) for his first defeat of the season.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
RSS