Yang Jien-ming tossed seven-and-a-third innings of one-run ball and Wilton Veras drove in a pair of runs on a two-for-four night as the Sinon Bulls doubled up on the Uni-President Lions 4-2 at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium last night.
The win not only extended the Bulls’ win streak to three straight, but also clinched the first-half title after a loss by the second-placed La New Bears in Kaohsiung county on the same night.
Kuo Dai-chi’s sharp single up the middle following a standup double by Yang Seng got the Cats on the board in the opening frame, before the Bulls countered with a run of their own in the top of the second, courtesy of an opposite-field single by Veras.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The Bulls would take a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning with Veras’ second hit of the game off Lions starter Luther Hackman.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth innings, the visitors would roar again with a pair of seventh-inning runs on the strength of consecutive RBI singles by Cheng Da-hong and Chang Tai-shan to lead it 4-1.
Trailing by three, the Lions managed to put the first two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth against Bulls closer Takatsu Shingo in a seemingly promising rally, but the Japanese ace promptly regained his composure and fanned the next two batters in what ended up being a one-run ninth to preserve the victory.
Yang Jien-fu improved to 5-1 for the season with the win, allowing a run on five hits over seven-plus innings.
Taking the tough loss was Hackman, who pitched well enough to win with four allowed runs on nine hits in six-and-two-third innings of work, but was outshone by Yang’s superior outing.
ELEPHANTS 5, BEARS 1
Three ninth-inning runs broke a 2-1 game wide open as the Brother Elephants downed the La New Bears 5-1 in Kaohsiung County to record their eighth victory in their last 10 games.
The Elephants wasted little time getting to Bears starter Chris Mason with a run each in the first and second for a quick 2-0 advantage.
The game suddenly turned into a pitchers’ duel between Mason and his counterpart Carlos Castillo after the Bears plated their first run of the game in the third, making it 2-1.
That score would remain through to the eighth with neither hurler giving up another run, before the Elephants rang up three off Bears reliever Tseng Jau-hao in the final frame to seal the deal.
Castillo was credited with the win for going the distance for his team, allowing a lone run on five hits, while fanning three and walking one.
Suffering his third loss of the season was Mason, who fell to 7-3 for the year despite pitching two-run ball over seven innings in another quality start.
TODAY’S GAMES
In today’s games, the Bulls take on the Lions in Tainan at 5:05pm, while in Kaohsiung County, the Elephants face the Bears at the same time.
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
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
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against 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