Winning four of their past five and seven of their past nine, the top-ranked EDA Rhinos have gradually pulled away from the rest of the pack to attain a 4.5 game lead over the second-placed Chinatrust Brothers in the standings.
Leading the way on the offensive side for the Rhinos are Chang Chien-ming, Kao Kuo-hui, and Lin Yi-chuan, who are among the top three in the league in most of the statistical categories. The three players are enjoying an outstanding first month of play with a combined batting average of .386, 13 home runs and 62 RBIs over the Rhinos’ first 22 games.
“They are seeing the ball extremely well and they are very patient at the plate,” renown baseball commentator Yang Chin-lung said of the Rhinos’ trio earlier this week.
Their continued success will undoubtedly pose a serious threat to opposing pitchers as the Rhinos look to improve from their third-placed finish last season.
Superior offensive power is not the only factor for the Rhinos as they lead the league in pitching, with overseas tandem Mike Loree and Evan MacLane, who are 7-0 in 11 starts with a solid earned run average (ERA) of 2.44 in 70 combined innings of play.
Aside from being the league’s first five-game winner, Loree is also the league leader in ERA at a miniscule 2.11 mark.
“[Loree] is definitely making the most of his second tour of duty in Taiwan because he is more familiar with the hitters around the league and he understands better how the hitters think here,” Lamigo Monkeys coach Hung Yi-chung said of his former ace, who left the Primates after two seasons in 2013 for a year-long stint with South Korea’s KT Wiz, before returning to Taiwan at the start of this season.
Loree will have a well deserved break after Wednesday night’s 7-2 victory over the Primates in which he allowed a lone run on five hits over 5-1/3 innings before his next expected start against the Brothers at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on Thursday next week.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and 2022 drafts, on Thursday won for the first time in the major leagues. Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-best seven innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. The 25-year-old right-hander was drafted third overall by Texas in 2022, a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick. He made his major
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
RSS