With the first-half title on the line in a one-game playoff situation, the Macoto Cobras dominated the Sinon Bulls in a 4-0 shutout victory at Chiayi on Thursday night for their first-ever regular season crown.
The serpents could have won the first-half title outright with a win over the President Lions in Tainan on June 30. But a ninth-inning collapse by the Cobras bullpen blew a 1-0 lead that eventually ended in a 2-1 loss to give them and the Bulls n identical records (28-20-2), forcing the one-game playoff.
On Thursday, neither club could score through the first five innings, with the Bulls being kept in complete check by Cobras starter Lin Ying-jeh in a no-hit bid, while Bulls right-hander Lenin Picota kept the Cobras in check.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
It took three consecutive singles by the Cobras' Mario Encarnacion, Luo Ming-ching, and Deng Shih-yang, all with two outs, to score the Cobras' first two runs off Picota in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Leading 2-0, the serpents doubled their lead in the seventh on one swing by cleanup man Hsieh Jia-shien, whose two-run home run off Bulls reliever Osvaldo Martinez to right-center, again with two outs, to put the Cobras up 4-0.
"I'd be lying to you if I told you I was not nervous during the at-bat, especially after failing to come up anything in my first three at-bats," Hsieh said after the game, referring to his league-leading 17th homer of the season that sealed the win for the Cobras.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Rookie righty Lin En-yu pitched a perfect ninth, after Lin Ying-jeh's eight magnificent innings of two-hit ball to nail down the win, sending waves of orange-and-black ribbons onto the field as the players stormed out of the dugout to celebrate.
"It's simply awesome," Cobras manager Kuo Tai-yuan said after the game. "Words can't even begin to describe all the hard work that we as a team have done.
"Outstanding job by everyone in the organization all around."
Missing two of their regular starters -- outfielder Tseng Hua-wei and shortstop Cheng Jau-han to injuries -- the normally powerful Bulls' offense was limited to a pair of singles off Lin Ying-jeh.
It was the first time that the Bulls have been shut out this season.
"He [Picota] did a good job for us as far as keeping us in the game." Bulls manager Liu Rong-hua said. "It's too bad that our hitters never came around like we had hoped to back him up."
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
RSS