Kuo Dai-chi homered for the second straight game and Pan Wu-hsiung went deep twice off the La New Bears pitching staff to help the President Lions win Game 2 of the 2007 Taiwan Series by a 7-3 margin in Kaohsiung last night.
The win gave the Lions a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven annual Fall Classic, a pair of victories shy of taking the series.
"He [Kuo] wouldn't even have been playing if it hadn't been for the assistant coaches' insistence on how hot his bat had been of late. I'm glad we made the change," Lions manager Lu Wen-sheng said after the game.
It was Kuo's solo blast in the series opener that cracked a scoreless tie during the fourth in a game that he batted 2-for-3.
With their backs against the wall after the two home losses, the Bears travel to Tainan tomorrow to take on the Lions.
In Game 1 on Saturday Nelson Figueroa pitched seven effective innings and Yang Song-hsuen drove in three runs with a base-clearing double in the sixth as the Lions trounced the Bears 10-2.
The Lions continued their postseason dominance over opposition pitchers with 14 combined hits off six different Bears hurlers.
While the Lions hitters had another field day, their stingy pitching which allowed only six total runs over the three-game sweep against the Macoto Cobras in the Playoff Series, also held its grounds against the defending champs' big bats, thanks to the solid outing by Figueroa, who also won the series opener versus the Cobras to jumpstart the Lions in the right direction.
The right-hander allowed a pair of runs on seven hits while fanning eight and walking five to remain unbeaten at 6-0 for the Lions.
"It was a big win for us, especially after what happened last year," Lions skipper Lu Wen-sheng said after the game, referring to his clubs' four straight losses that gave the Bears their first-ever title.
The game began with both starters keeping it close over the first three innings in a scoreless tie with Figueroa and counterpart Huang Jung-chung allowing at least one opposing hitter on and managing to stay out of trouble with some clutch outs and help from their respective defense.
The Lions offense finally came through in the top of the fourth when Kuo Dai-chi led off the inning with a solo blast off Huang to get his team on the board before they batted around the order in a five-run sixth, highlighted by Yang's bases-clearing three-run double to take a commanding 6-0 lead.
Even though the Bears answered with two runs of their own off Figueroa, courtesy of a two-run homer by Kit Pellow in the bottom of the sixth, the Lions erupted for four more in the top of the ninth.
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
RSS