Lin Chih-sheng’s walk-off grand slam capped a six-run rally as the La New Bears overcame a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth to top the Brother Elephants 9-5 in Kaohsiung on Sunday.
It was his second blast of the game, giving the red-hot slugger a league-best four homers for the season. With the pair of homers on a 4-for-5 night with seven RBIs, Lin also extended his hitting streak to 16 (11 for the year), dating back to last October.
“I am seeing the ball pretty well these days,” Lin said after the game, referring to his big day at the plate.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Also starring for the Bears, who took the three-game set from the Elephants by a 2-1 margin, was Chen Chin-fong, who went 3-for-4 in the game to raise his average to .366 for the year.
The contest began with the home Bears striking first in the bottom of the first on Lin’s RBI-single off Elephants starter Liao Yu-cheng.
But the men in the golden uniform immediately answered with a four-run second that chased Bears lefty Wu Si-yo and actually led it 5-3 after the fifth before the bullpen blew a two-run lead to lose this one in the bottom of the ninth.
Picking up his first win of the season for the hosts was closer Jermaine Van Buren, who retired both of the hitters he saw to beat his counterpart, Tsao Jung-yang, who gave up three straight hits and a walk to blow the save opportunity before serving up Lin’s slam in a disappointing defeat.
BULLS 7, LIONS 3
The Sinon Bulls ended a three-game winless skid by taming the Uni-President Lions 7-3 in Tainan on Sunday to salvage a 1-1-1 split in the three-game set versus the defending champs.
Hsieh “the Ugly” Jia-shien led the Bulls attack with a solo homer, while veteran catcher Yeh Jung-chang drove in a pair of runs on a 2-for-3 effort to account for nearly half the Bulls’ run production.
Holding the Lions bats in check, despite giving up 10 hits over seven innings, was Bulls starter Shoda Itsuki of Japan, who allowed only three runs (only two earned) in his second straight quality start en route to his second victory of the season.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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