Taiwanese rookie Lin Tzu-wei on Monday made history by getting a hit in his first at-bat in the US major leagues and played good defense to help the Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins.
Only called up three days ago from the Red Sox’s Double-A affiliate the Portland Sea Dogs, the 23-year-old infielder got his first chance in the second inning.
The left-hitting Lin slapped a line drive into centerfield against Minnesota starting pitcher Jose Berrios and made it to first to the cheers of the Boston crowd at Fenway Park.
Photo: AP
“I still feel a little bit nervous, but after getting the first out, I knew there would be more coming the rest of the game,” Lin was quoted as saying by Boston media.
“I don’t want to think too much,” he said.
“I’ve picked up some confidence,” Lin said. “You don’t want to be overconfident. Just take it pitch by pitch.”
Boston manager John Farrell penciled Lin into the starting line-up as third baseman and ninth on the batting roster.
Farrell was quoted as saying that Lin “handled it extremely well tonight,” adding that he would play more this season, as he brings the advantage of a left-handed batter and has been reliable in defense.
Lin is the 13th Taiwanese to play in the US Major Leagues and became the first among them to get a hit in his first at-bat.
Taiwanese media reports said Lin made a patriotic statement by putting a decal of the Republic of China national flag on the knob of his bat, which is visible when he swings.
The Red Sox rookie ended the day one for three, striking out once, and made several good defensive plays at third.
He got a ground out in the opening frame and initiated a double play against in the seventh inning.
It was Lin’s third game since being called up, playing as a pinch-runner in his first game and as a defensive replacement late in his second.
Taiwanese fans and officials lauded Lin’s achievement.
They said his background was as an Aboriginal player of the Bunun community from a mountain village in Kaohsiung’s Namasiya Township.
In Cleveland, Ohio, Francisco Lindor, Lonnie Chisenhall and Carlos Santana each had three RBIs to help the Indians rally from 9-2 down in the fourth inning to beat the Texas Rangers 15-9.
The Indians scored a run in the fourth, four in the fifth, took the lead with five in the sixth and added three in the seventh.
Additional reporting by AP
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s consecutive RBI singles proved to be the difference in the US’ 5-3 win over Canada in a World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinal on Friday night in Houston. The US faces the Dominican Republic, which crushed South Korea 10-0 in seven innings in its quarter-final, in a semifinal Sunday in Miami for a spot in Tuesday’s championship. The Dominican team has won all five games in this WBC by a combined margin of 51-10. It appeared the US squad was headed toward a cozy victory when it built a 5-0 lead by the sixth inning. A first-inning RBI groundout
RSS