Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome.
Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela.
Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out.
Photo: CNA
However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin Li.
At a post-game news conference, Taiwan manager Tseng Hao-ju said it was a pity that his team were unable to score, despite having more hits than Venezuela.
Tseng praised all the team’s relievers for keeping the game close and not giving up any runs from the fourth inning onward.
Photo: CNA
The squad would make some adjustments and hopefully can do better in the next game, he said.
“I have faith in my players,” he added.
Thirteen of Taiwan’s batters were struck out by eight Venezuela pitchers, a sharp contrast to only five Venezuela batters struck out by five Taiwan pitchers.
Photo: CNA
The game featured a pitchers’ duel between two players from the CPBL.
Taiwan starter Huang Tzu-peng of CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys and Venezuela’s Nivaldo Rodriguez of the Fubon Guardians had impressive games, both throwing three scoreless innings before Huang gave up a home run in the fourth.
Huang gave up two earned runs on five hits, striking out three batters in 4.2 innings.
Photo: CNA
Rodriguez cruised through four scoreless innings, striking out five while giving up only three hits.
In the evening game at the same venue, hosts Japan defeated the US 9-1.
Taiwan face the US today at noon at the Tokyo Dome.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan and Venezuela are two of the four teams who advanced to the Super Round.
Taiwan finished the opening round in second in Group B with a 4-1 record. Japan topped the group.
Venezuela won Group A, which was played in Guadalajara and Tepic, Mexico, with the US second.
The teams who finish first and second in the Super Round are to play in the gold medal match, while the teams in third and fourth are to play for bronze.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS