Kobayashi Ryokan tossed six innings of three-run ball and Chen Rei-cheng went a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs as the Brother Elephants doubled up on the Uni-President Lions 6-3 in Tainan on Friday night for their second win of the week.
Capitalizing on a shaky start by Lions starter Lin Cheng-fong, the visitors jumped to a quick 4-0 lead in the opening frame on the strength of two singles, a double and a rare two-run triple by Chen.
Even though the home Cats struck back with a run each in the first and second to halve the lead to 4-2, the Elephants returned the favor with a run in the fourth and fifth, highlighted by Wang Jin-yong’s run-scoring double in the fifth, to maintain a four-run cushion.
The Lions managed to plate their third run of the night in the bottom of the fifth when Jose Castillo hit a sacrifice-fly off Kobayashi to score the runner from third that extended the Venezuelan slugger’s recent RBI-streak to three in a row. But that was as close as they got against the stingy Elephants pitching as Kobayashi finished the inning without further damage and cruised through the sixth before the Brother bullpen took over with three hitless innings of solid relief to preserve the fifth win of the season for Kobayashi.
As for the Lions, the four-run hole that Lin dug early in the game proved costly as they dropped the second game in three chances in a not-so-auspicious start for the second half.
Bears 7, Bulls 3
The La New Bears bounced back nicely from a blowout loss to the Elephants on Thursday with a 7-3 win over the Sinon Bulls at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Friday evening to pick their first win of the second half.
Chen Chin-fong led an attack that ripped 14 hits off the Sinon pitching by going 3-for-4 with an RBI to earn the game-MVP honor.
La New sent nine men to the plate to face Bulls starter Shoda Itsuki in what ended up being a five-run first. The Bears never looked back, as the 5-0 lead was more than ample for starter Chang Chih-jia, who recovered from a wild second that saw him surrender three runs by holding his ground over the next four frames to win his seventh game of the year.
‘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