Taiwan’s Cheng Tsung-che on Wednesday made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates, just two days after being called up from Triple-A.
In a home game at PNC Park against the St Louis Cardinals, Cheng wore a Taiwanese flag on his belt as he started at shortstop and batted ninth.
“The journey has officially begun,” the Pirates wrote in Chinese on X, welcoming the 23-year-old.
Photo: AP
Cheng’s wife was among the scattered spectators at the noon game, in which the Pirates edged the Cardinals 2-1 in the 13th inning on a walk-off hit by Joey Bart.
Cheng went hitless in his two at-bats against Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth.
In the third inning, with teammate Tommy Pham on first base, Cheng flew out to left field on a sinker.
Photo: AFP
Leading off the sixth, he reached first on a sharply hit grounder toward third baseman Nolan Arenado, but the play was ruled an error by the 10-time Gold Glove winner.
Cheng attempted to steal second base and was initially called safe, but the ruling was overturned following a video review.
The Pirates, now 5-8, are tied with the Cincinnati Reds at the bottom of the National League Central standings.
Photo: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Athletics 1, Padres 2
‧ Braves 3, Phillies 4
‧ Cubs 2, Rangers 6
‧ Diamondbacks 9, Orioles 0
‧ Giants 8, Reds 6 (10i)
‧ Guardians 3, White Sox 2
‧ Mariners 7, Astros 6
‧ Mets 0, Marlins 5
‧ Nationals 5, Dodgers 6
‧ Rays 5, Angels 4
‧ Red Sox 1, Blue Jays 2 (11i)
‧ Rockies 2, Brewers 17
‧ Royals 0, Twins 4
‧ Tigers 3, Yankees 4
Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida on Tuesday told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her, adding that she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention. Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture. The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, has been dubbed the “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media. She hit out at some supporters on Tuesday, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far. “Every time we compete in China we always experience the harm
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
Tadej Pogacar on Sunday won an epic see-saw showdown at the Tour of Flanders, soloing home from 15km, with Mads Pedersen edging Mathieu van der Poel to second at the line a minute later with Wout van Aert fourth. The duel between the Slovenian and defending champion Van der Poel played out across the 17 hills in bright sunshine before Pogacar broke away. World champion Pogacar, who won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France last year, collected his eighth one-day Monument, moving ahead of one-day specialist Van der Poel on seven. “The goal was to win, but at