Lee Seung-yuop’s three-run homer with two outs broke a 2-all tie wide open in the bottom of the eighth as the Samsung Lions shook off Italy’s Unipol Fortitudo 5-2 at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium to take the opener in this year’s Asia Series.
The showdown between the winners of last year’s European Cup and the recently crowned champs of South Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization competition went down to the wire before the electrifying swing by the veteran slugger put the Lions ahead for good.
“I am glad the homer kept the game from going into extra innings, [Fortitudo] are a much tougher team than people give them credit for,” Lee said after being named MVP.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
What should have been a relatively easy win for the Lions turned into a dog fight as Fortitudo struck first with a run off Samsung starter Jung Hyun-baek on the strength of a leadoff walk and a pair of singles in the top of the second before the Lions answered with a run of their own to tie it up at 1-all.
The Lions claimed their first lead of the game in the fifth when Hyung Sik-jung drew a one-out walk off Fortitudo starter Bobby Blevins, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Han Yi-park that made it 2-1.
The diehard Fortitudo made things interesting in the top of the seventh with a run that tied the game at 2-all and threatened to blow it open with one out and a pair of runner on. However, poor base-running by the Europeans led to an inning-ending double play to keep them from attaining a lead, setting the stage for Lee’s game-clinching blast an inning later.
Chang Min-sim was credited with the win for his 1-2/3 innings of relief while the loss was charged to his counterpart Filippo Crepaldi.
Shintaro Masuda’s bases-loaded single broke a 1-all tie in what ended up being a five-run eighth to lead Japan’s Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles past Taiwan’s EDA Rhinos in a 6-1 final in the night game in Greater Taichung yesterday.
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS