Lin Yu-ching tossed seven effective innings of one-run ball and Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min drove in a pair of runs as the Brother Elephants edged past the Lamigo Monkeys 3-1 at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium yesterday to clinch the weekend series.
In the third straight game that was decided by two or fewer runs between the two clubs, it was the Elephants who got the job done when it mattered the most as they came through with the timely hits to humble a Primates team in a series that could have easily gone the other way.
After Chia Chia’s two-run double put the Elephants ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the men in the golden uniforms added to their lead with a run in the third, when Wang Sheng-wei and Chen Jiang-ho connected on back-to-back singles with two outs to score a runner from third.
The Monkeys finally broke through with a run off Lin in the top of the fourth when Kuo Yen-wen led off the inning with a rare triple and scored on Lin Hung-yu’s sacrifice fly on the ensuing play to make it 3-1. However, that was all the offense the defending champions could muster off the Elephants starter as they came up empty in the fifth inning, despite a leadoff double off Lin.
They then hit into a double play in the eighth to strand another runner.
Lin was awarded his sixth win of the season for his outstanding effort, while the loss went to Wang Yi-cheng, who made a quality start in his own right (three earned runs on seven hits over 6-1/3 innings of play) in a losing cause.
LIONS 9, RHINOS 1
The Uni-President Lions beat the EDA Rhinos for the second straight night by roughing up the first-half champions in a 9-1 rout at the Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday.
It was an excellent way for the Cats to top off a great weekend of baseball that saw staff ace Pan “Du Du” Wei-luen overtake the lead in career victories with No. 109 on Saturday.
Nelson Figueroa followed Du Du with seven strong innings of five-hit ball, with the lone Rhinos run off him being unearned to win his second straight start.
Leading the way for the Cats were Kuo Jung-yo, Deng Chih-wei and Chang “OEO” Tai-shan, who teed off against the Rhinos pitching with a pair of hits and an RBI apiece to account for the bulk of their team’s offense.
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shown the team do not need star power to win trophies and with the French Ligue 1 title won with six games to spare, the French champions would look to finish the season without losing, manager Luis Enrique said on Saturday. A 1-0 victory over Angers SCO at the Parc des Princes helped PSG win their fourth straight Ligue 1 title and a record-extending 13th overall. PSG can still break Nantes’ 30-year-old record of 32 games unbeaten. Although Nantes lost one game en route to the title, no French club has ever gone an entire league
RECORD WINNERS: The Catalan club, who are still in contention for a historic quadruple this season, are to face rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final Barcelona are to face rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final after Ferran Torres secured them a 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, progressing 5-4 on aggregate from the semi-final tie. Record 31-time winners Barca had the better of the clash at the Metropolitano after the wild 4-4 first-leg draw. The defeat leaves Diego Simeone’s Atletico with little to play for in the rest of the season. By contrast, the Catalans are on the hunt for a potential quadruple and are unbeaten this year, stretching their run to 21 games without defeat. Atletico were the last team to triumph
RSS