Powered by a four-run sixth inning, Taiwan scored eight unanswered runs to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 8-2 win over Japan in their third game at this year’s World Baseball Challenge at Citizen Field Park in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday night.
The win not only helped Taiwan bounce back from a tough loss to Cuba on Sunday, but it also boosted their record to 2-1 with two more games remaining in the preliminary round — against the Beijing Tigers of China and Team Canada.
Starter Kuo Chun-lin shook off a rocky start with an earned run in the second and the third, to pitch shutout ball from the fourth inning through the eighth to earn the important victory.
He struck out a tournament-high 10 with a lone walk over eight frames to give the Taiwan bullpen some much needed rest.
“If [Kuo] could just work on getting through the early innings without giving up too many runs, he’d be great,” Taiwan skipper Chen Wei-cheng said of the starter after the game.
Offensively for Taiwan, the big bats finally broke through after four scoreless innings with a pair of runs in the fifth, courtesy of Yu Tsung-han’s solo home run and Hsiao Po-ting’s two-out single that scored a runner from second to tie the game at 2-all.
That was the spark that Taiwan needed to blow the game wide open in the sixth, as Hsiao drove in his second run of the game with a single to left following Wang Chun-chieh’s two-run double to cap off a four-run spurt.
Yang Kuan-wei’s seventh--inning solo blast made it 7-2, -before -Taiwan concluded the scoring with another run in the eighth to complete the eight-run comeback victory.
Japan’s Arakaki Hayato was charged with the loss despite the early success he enjoyed, pitching four scoreless innings of two-hit ball, before running into a world of trouble in the fifth.
Next up for Taiwan are the Beijing Tigers, who remained winless at 0-4 with a narrow loss to the Bahamas earlier on Tuesday.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
RSS