Cheng Jau-han’s walk-off single with a runner on second scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Sinon Bulls broke a scoreless tie with the only run in the contest to win it by a 1-0 margin against the La New Bears at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu last night.
It was the second time that the veteran infielder has won a game in such dramatic fashion for the Bulls this year as he lined an offering from reliever Geng Bo-hsuan to shallow-right with the game on the line to knock home the game-winner.
“This is the kind of game that will make us tougher with the season winding down,” Cheng said after the game, nearly stealing the show from fellow slugger Chang Tai-shan, who belted a single to left-center in the bottom of the seventh off La New starter Ken Ray for his record-breaking 1,583rd career bases hit.
Chang was properly honored after the game for his tremendous achievement as he received a sign with a large “1,583” on it from the holder of the previous record, former Sinon great and current third-base coach Huang Chung-yi.
It was only fitting that the Bulls celebrated Chang’s career milestone with a dramatic triumph.
Both starters held their ground against an anxious opposing lineup that looked to break the ice early in the game with the Bears’ Ray and Sinon’s Lin Ying-jeh pitching seven innings of shutout ball on four and six hits.
Neither wound up with a decision as the game was not decided until long after both hurlers had left.
Picking up his sixth win of the year was reliever Shen Yu-jeh, who pitched two innings of scoreless relief despite allowing a pair of singles to beat his counterpart Geng, who gave up a lead-off single in the bottom of the ninth to set up Cheng’s game-winner.
ELEPHANTS 7, LIONS 3
The Brother Elephants made it two in a row with a convincing 7-3 victory over the Uni-President Lions at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang last night to clinch the weekend series in northern Taiwan against the defending champs by a 2-1 margin.
Jim Magrane received plenty of run support to back up his seven-and-two-third innings of solid play, allowing three runs on five hits in his 11th quality start to beat Lions starter Pan “Du Du” Wei-luen for his ninth win of the year.
Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min’s RBI single in the bottom of the opening frame got things moving in the right direction for the Elephants before they added to their 1-0 lead by two three innings later, courtesy of Wang Sheng-wei’s one-run single and a fielding error by the Lions third baseman.
The Elephants put up another run each in the fifth and the sixth that made it 5-0 before the Lions finally got on the board in the top of the seventh with a run off Magrane.
They managed to score two more in the eighth with Liu Fu-hao’s two-run double, but the Elephants sent closer Ryan Cullen to record the last four outs of the game for his league-leading 23rd save of the season.
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Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
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