Chen Chih-hung’s walk-off homer off Tsai Ming-chin in the bottom of the ninth scored the game-winner to lift the Chinatrust Brothers past the EDA Rhinos at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium last night, ending the first half on a high note for the men in their familiar golden uniforms.
“I’d like to thank the fans for coming out to support us. This one [the game-winner] is for you all,” Chen said after being named the game-MVP for his game-winning swing.
SEASON SAVER
His timely homer could very well have been the season-saver for the Brothers, who saw their two-run lead crushed in the top of the ninth when Yang Guan-wei tripled off newly arrived Brad Thomas with two outs to score the game-tying runs.
Also starring for the Brothers was hired gun Jim Negrych.
SEVENTH INNING RALLY
Negrych’s three-run blast off Rhino reliever Shen Yu-chieh in the bottom of the seventh rallied his club from a run down to a two-run margin. It was Negrych’s fourth long ball of the season.
The Rhinos needed little time getting on the board as they squeezed a run off Brother starter Cheng Hung-chi in the opening frame when Cheng Da-hung drew a leadoff walk, took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Chang Yung-han’s RBI single.
The run turned out to be the only offense that either team could muster through the sixth with Rhino starter Freddy Garcia holding his ground in a four-hit gem and Cheng Hung-chi buckling down through the fifth before being relieved and his successor Armando Galarraga tossing a scoreless sixth.
With Garcia being lifted after the sixth due to a high pitch count (96), the Brothers saw their chance in the seventh as they led off the inning with a double off Rhino reliever Lin Yi-hao and placed two on with two outs to set up Negrych’s three-run shot.
Picking up the win after being charged with a blown save was Thomas while the loss went to the Rhinos’ Tsai for serving up Chen’s game-winner.
The two teams are to have most of the week off before they kickoff the second half on Friday.
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Brimin Kipkorir of Kenya and Amid Fozya Jemal of Ethiopia won the men’s and the women’s categories, respectively, in the annual Taipei Marathon yesterday, which drew about 28,000 participants. Kipkorir finished the 42.2km run in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 41 seconds, which was about 2.5 minutes off the event’s record of 2:09:18 set by his countryman Paul Lonyongata in 2020. Meanwhile, Jemal — who also won the New Taipei Wan Jin Shi Marathon in March — finished with a first-place time of 2:32:47, about seven minutes behind the race’s women’s record of 2:25:55. For winning the race, Kipkorir and