With the Taiwan Series to begin on Saturday, first-half winners the Lamigo Monkeys are to enjoy a home-field advantage as they take on the Brothers Baseball Club, Chinese Professional Baseball League officials announced yesterday on releasing the post-season schedule.
The Brothers had a string of wins down the final stretch last week, winning three out of four games, to clinch the second-half title and a post-season berth.
For the best-of-seven Taiwan Series, the Monkeys are to host the Brothers at the Taoyuan International Stadium for Game 1 on Saturday and Game 2 on Sunday, both with a 5pm start, the officials said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The Fubon Guardians had a slim chance of grabbing a post-season berth before they lost to the Brothers 3-8 on Tuesday last week. They were eliminated as contenders when the Monkeys thrashed the Brothers 15-4 on Thursday.
In the final game of the regular season on Saturday, the visiting Brothers cruised to a 14-5 victory over the Monkeys in Taoyuan.
The game determined the top batters and pitchers for the season.
Monkeys first baseman Chu Yu-hsien blasted a solo homer, his 30th dinger of the season, with which he clinched the title of home run king, followed by the Guardians’ Lin Yi-chuan and the Uni-President Lions’ Su Chi-chieh with 27 homers apiece.
In his fourth season, Chu had his best year at the plate for the Monkeys. He topped the league for most hits with 159 and was in second for total RBIs with 105, three behind the Guardians’ Lin, who was first for RBIs with 108.
“I thank the coaches and fans for their confidence in me, but I must concentrate on the Taiwan Series to win the championship for my team,” said Chu, who has been selected to play for the national squad in next month’s Premier 12 tourney, a qualifier for next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.
Monkeys shortstop Lin Li took the title of batting king with an average of 0.389, followed by Monkeys slugger Chen Chun-hsiu with 0.381 and Brothers outfielder Chan Tzu-hsien with 0.351.
Monkeys fireballer Radhames Liz of the Dominican Republic, in his first season in Taiwan, ended the season as the pitcher with the most wins (16-6).
Guardians right-hander Mike Loree, in his seventh season in Taiwan, chalked up an ERA of 2.78, the lowest among league pitchers, while his 12-9 record placed him second in wins behind Liz.
In the race for strike-outs, Liz finished first with 179 for the season, followed by Loree with 167.
Among relief pitchers, the Lions’ Chen Yun-wen registered the most saves, 24 for the season, followed by the Guardians’ Chen Hung-wen with 20.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
RSS