The CTBC Brothers still need another win to clinch the first-half CPBL title, despite thrashing the hapless Fubon Guardians 17-0 yesterday, after the Rakuten Monkeys beat the Uni-President Lions 9-2.
Fans of CTBC Brothers were hoping to celebrate the first-half title, with a crowd of more than 10,000 packed into the Taichung Intercontinental Stadium for their home game against the Guardians.
The figure was an attendance record for this year, when baseball and most other major sports events worldwide have been played in empty venues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Liao Yau-tung, Taipei Times
Entering the game, CTBC had pushed their magic number down to 2, meaning they needed to win and for the Rakuten Monkeys to lose to secure the first-half title, which guarantees a berth in post-season play.
The Brothers did their part. Their offense cranked out 19 hits, including three home runs.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, with Brothers ahead 2-0 and the bases loaded, shortstop Chiang Kun-yu went to the plate at the bottom of order.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
He drilled a fastball from Fubon starter Chen Shih-peng over the left-field fence for a grand slam, taking the lead to 6-0.
The Brothers added 11 more runs in the following four frames.
Catcher Kao Yu-chieh and outfielder Chen Tzu-hao contributed homers of their own as the CTBC batters made mincemeat of six pitchers used by Fubon.
Photo: Liao Yau-tung, Taipei Times
Brothers starting pitcher Huang En-shih, who was credited with the win, said that the pitching coaches had helped him with adjustments and physical conditioning after his CTBC-record ninth straight win, with the sequence stretching to last season.
“Before the game, the coaches reminded me not to think too much and try to not to get too nervous or stressed,” Huang said. “So I kept my pitching rhythm and took on the hitters one-by-one.”
The coaching staff “should also get the credit for this win,” he said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
In the other contest, the Monkeys took on the visiting Uni-President Lions at the Taoyuan International Stadium needing a win to keep the Brothers from clinching the first-half title.
Rakuten had their starting pitcher Weng Wei-chun to thank for a superb outing. He pitched nine innings for a complete-game victory.
Weng gave up only six hits, yielding two runs with two walks and four strikeouts. His record improved to 6-3 for the season.
In the opening frame, Rakuten pushed two runners home, giving Weng early run support.
They held that margin until the bottom of the fourth, when “Dimple Cannon” Chu Yu-hsien slammed a solo homer, and two hits later, first baseman Liang Chia-rong crushed a shot into the stands over right field for a three-run homer.
Rakuten scored four runs in that inning to go in front 6-0 and they got three additional runs, while the Lions only woke up from their slumber in the final two innings.
A homer from Taiwanese-Argentine slugger Lin An-ko, his league-leading 20th dinger, was a rare highlight for the Lions.
Weng said he was disappointed to let the opposition batters into the game.
“It was a bit disappointing to concede the two runs, both on solo homers, or I would have held them to no score,” Weng said. “I told the coaches that I wanted to stay on the mound to get a rare complete-game victory.”
“Also because I got into a good groove and my arm was still going strong,” he said. “It was great to get to the ninth.”
Rakuten host the Brothers today in Taoyuan.
If Rakuten prevail, they will prolong the first-half challenge into next week, with five more days of make-up games.
If the Brothers win, they will clinch the first-half title. The Lions and the Guardians are out of contention.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but