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.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946