A pair of ninth-inning runs by Team White (South) off Team Red (North) reliever Chu Jien-ming forced a 3-3 tie in this year's Chinese Professional Baseball League's All-Star Game at Sinjhuang on Saturday night, stretching Team Red's unbeaten streak to three.
Game-MVP Chen Lien-hong (President Lions) started the ninth with a leadoff double and scored the second run for his team on an RBI double by fellow Lions catcher Kao Chih-kang, before Tsai Jien-wei's (La new Bears) groundout to short scored the tying run for the South.
It was the second MVP selection for Chen in the annual mid-summer classic, as the 10-year veteran finished the night with a two-for-two effort from the plate.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
"I just swung at whatever looked good to me, and I'm glad the result was favorable," Chen Lien-hong said after the game.
The game began with the North striking first in the bottom of the opening inning with singles by Chi Jung-lin (Chinatrust Whales), Hsieh "The Ugly" Jia-shien (Macoto Cobras) and Chen Guan-ren (Brother Elephants) off South starter Pan "Du Du" Wei-luen to go up 2-0.
Against the strong pitching of North starter Lin "Little Chick" En-yu (Cobras), Team South was unable to score, despite collecting two hits off the Macoto ace.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
But with rookie right-hander Chang Hsien-chih (Cobras) replacing Lin at the top of the third, Team South immediately produced, thanks to an error by North shortstop Cheng Chang-ming (Whales) and a timely single from Sinon Bulls' home run threat Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan, cutting the North's lead to 2-1.
The score would remain 2-1 over the next four innings with neither team able to put up any runs until the bottom of the eighth, when the North added what seemed to be an insurance run on a run-scoring single by designated hitter Kao Jung-chiang (Whales) to go up 3-1, setting the stage for the South's ninth-inning rally.
The tie on Saturday night was only the second ever in an All-Star Game over the league's 17-year history, following a 2-2 draw in Game 2 of the All-Star Series (three-game set) in 1992.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Home Run Derby
Chinatrust slugger Huang Kwei-yu beat out La new's Lin Chih-sheng by a 7-4 margin in the final round to take home the Home Run Derby title on Friday night, along with a check for NT$30,000.
Coincidentally, the three men that he beat in his quest for the title were all from the La new Bears -- Chen Chin-fong (with a league-best mark of 14 homers), Pan Chung-wei (six homers) and finally Lin (eight homers) -- all of whom had belted more homers than Huang's five during the regular season.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Base-running Contest
Helped by an early drop of the baton by Brother Elephants' Yeh Yong-jeh in the second leg of the base-running relay, Team White breezed through the annual speedsters' fest to win it for the third year in a row.
Pitching Contest
Chang "Red Monkey" Jia-hao (Bulls) and Lin Chih-sheng each nailed six of the nine squares on the target board to win the pitching contest that preceded the All-Star Game.
The new event tested the pitcher's accuracy by requiring them to hit nominated squares on a target board located over home plate. The contest proved tremendously popular, as pitchers wowed the crowd with their control of the ball.
American League
Normally reliable shortstop Alex Gonzalez's sixth-inning throwing error allowed Eduardo Perez to score the tiebreaking run, spoiling Kason Gabbard's Major League Baseball debut and helping the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 on Saturday.
Boston's league-best defense -- performing better than any Red Sox fielders in 56 seasons to date -- betrayed Gabbard and reliever Julian Tavarez in the decisive sixth and seventh innings.
Boston's five-game winning streak was snapped.
Athletics 9, Tigers 5
In Detroit, Mark Kotsay's three-run homer in the second inning helped Oakland erase a five-run deficit, then Milton Bradley and Marco Scutaro each added homers to give the Athletics a win over the Tigers.
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4
In Toronto, Bernie Williams homered, Derek Jeter drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk, and the Yankees ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Blue Jays.
Angels 4, Royals 3, 10 innings
At Kansas City, Missouri, rookie Reggie Willits singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Kansas City.
Indians 11, Twins 0
At Cleveland, rookie Jeremy Sowers shut down the hottest-hitting team in baseball on four hits, and Cleveland snapped Minnesota's eight-game winning streak.
Rangers 3, White Sox 1
At Chicago, Michael Young hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the ninth inning, and Texas beat the slumping Chicago.
Devil Rays 13, Orioles 12
At St Petersburg, Florida, Julio Lugo homered twice during a 10-run fifth inning, helping Tampa Bay build a big enough cushion to hold off Baltimore.
National League
Xavier Nady hit a three-run homer and Orlando Hernandez recovered from a shaky start to pitch the New York Mets past the Houston Astros 4-3 on Saturday.
Carlos Delgado added a sacrifice fly, helping the Major League Baseball National League East-leading Mets to their third consecutive victory and 11th in 15 games. They improved to a season-best 21 games over .500.
Nationals 7, Cubs 3
In Washington, Alfonso Soriano hit three doubles and a triple, drove in one run and scored two, while Livan Hernandez threw six solid innings for his first win in nearly a month as the Nationals won two straight for the first time in three weeks.
Marlins 5, Pirates 0
In Miami, Ricky Nolasco allowed four hits in 7 1-3 innings and struck out seven, leading the Florida Marlins over the Pirates.
Reds 8, Brewers 7
In Cincinnati, Ryan Freel hit a pair of solo homers, including a tiebreaking shot in the eighth inning that sent Cincinnati over Milwaukee in front of a rare capacity crowd at Great American Ball Park.
Marlins 5, Pirates 0
At Miami, rookie Ricky Nolasco allowed four hits in 7 1-3 innings and struck out seven, leading Florida over Pittsburgh.
Giants 4, Padres 3
At San Francisco, Jason Schmidt (7-6) won for the first time in more than six weeks, and San Francisco took first place in the NL West with its season-best fifth straight win.
Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 3
At Phoenix, Luis Gonzalez's solo home run in the eighth inning off Jose Mesa (0-4) lifted Arizona over Colorado for its 10th win in 12 games and within a half-game of the NL West lead.
Cardinals 6, Dodgers 1
At Los Angeles, Jim Edmonds homered for the fourth time in five games, Albert Pujols added a two-run shot and St Louis beat Los Angeles to tie the longest home run streak in franchise history at 18 games.
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