Tsan Chih-yao’s high chopper to third, which Wilton Veras did not have a chance to field cleanly, scored the game-winner in the bottom of the 11th for the La New Bears as they beat the Sinon Bulls 9-8 at the Kaohsiung County Baseball Stadium on Wednesday night.
The speedy rookie outfielder, whose trademark smile has won the hearts of many young female fans, rose to the occasion with a two-out single to help his club win for the first time in a week, nipping a dreadful four-game slide.
The home Bears jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the opening frame when Lin Chih-sheng and Chen Chin-fong drove in a pair of runs off Sinon starter Shoda Itsuki.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
The lead last less than an inning as the Bulls came back and struck for three runs on run-scoring doubles by Cheng Jau-han and Chang Jien-ming to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the second.
After Shih Chih-wei’s opposite-field single in the bottom of the second tied the game at 3-all, the home Bears doubled their lead in the fourth when Lin went deep against Shoda for a three-run homer, his league-leading 30th of the season.
Sinon managed to get two of the runs back to keep the La New lead at a run, but the Bears claimed an 8-5 lead in the sixth on consecutive RBI singles from Jacob Cruz and Pan Chung-wei for a seemingly comfortable cushion.
Failure to keep the Bulls hitters in check on the part of the La New bullpen allowed the Bulls back in the game with a pair of seventh-inning runs, courtesy of Cheng’s two-run single off Bears reliever Keng Bo-hsuen.
The Bulls eventually tied the game up in the eighth when Hsieh “the Ugly” Jia-shien came through with a clutch two-out single off Hsu Ming-jeh with runners on first and second to send the game into extra innings.
Picking up the win for the Bears was Lee Fong-hua, who tossed a scoreless 11th for his first “W” of the year to beat his counterpart Ricardo Rodriguez, who gave up the game-winning run in the end.
LIONS 5, ELEPHANTS 3
Luther Hackman tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts to lead the Uni-President Lions past the Brother Elephants at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium on Tuesday night, extending the Cats’ winning streak to four in a row.
The win cut the Elephants’ lead over the second-place Lions to 4.5 games in the second-half standings as the latter looked to finish out the second half strong in order to gain a first-round bye in the upcoming postseason.
Hsu Fong-bin’s RBI groundout broke a 2-all tie in the bottom of the second for the Lions, who went on to lead it 5-2 before holding off a late-game rally by the Elephants to win by a 5-3 margin.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He