Team Red, consisting of the top players from the Brother Elephants and Sinon Bulls, opened the scoring in the second. Peng Cheng-min tagged Uni-President ace Pan Wei-luen with a leadoff double, and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Cheng Jau-han.

Team White, comprised of standouts from the La New Bears and Uni-President Lions, answered back to take the lead. Chen Chin-fong knotted the score in the fourth with a run-scoring single, and Kao Guo-ching drilled a solo shot off Sinon reliever Shen Yu-jeh in the sixth.

A two-run base hit by Hsu Guo-long in the bottom of the same inning helped Team Red to go back on top. However, Kao ignited a game-changing eight with a one-out single, and Chung Cheng-yo and Liu Fu-hao both connected for run-scoring singles. Lin capped the three-run rally with a two-out RBI hit off American closer Ryan Cullen.

Kao went 2-for-2 with a home run to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

HOME RUN DERBY
Uni-President Lions slugger Kuo Jung-yo won the Home Run Derby by a landslide Saturday night with a 7-0 triumph over Brother Elephants rookie catcher Fang Keh-wei at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium.

Kuo smacked just one long ball during the preliminary round and just barely advanced to the second round. He hit two homers to move into the semifinals against 2009 HR King Lin Chih-sheng of the La Nerw Bears, where the Lions outfielder upset Lin 5-1 to clinch a spot in the finals.

The third-year player, who has yet to go deep this season for the two-time reigning league title-holders, smashed seven home runs in the finals to win 20g of gold and NT$60,000 (US$1,870) in prize money.

Photo courtesy of Chinese Professional Baseball League

Peng snapped a scoreless deadlock in the third with a clutch RBI single with two outs to help the Elephants avoid a three-game sweep.

Castillo (9-4) allowed six hits and struck out three before giving way to reliever Ryan Cullen, who picked up the save despite a pair of rocky frames.

The Uni-President Lions rallied to edge the La New Bears 4-3 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on a walk-off single by Tu Chuang-shun.

The reigning CPBL champion tagged La New reliever Tseng Jau-hao with a run in the eighth, and back-to-back doubles by Kuo Dai-chi and Kuo Jung-yo off Bears’ closer Geng Bo-hsuen one frame later knotted the score

Sunday, July 18
Brother Elephants 1, Sinon Bulls 0
Uni-President Lions 4, La New Bears 3

Chinese Professional Baseball League

* First Half Champion

The first-half champion Bulls broke a scoreless deadlock in the third when Chang Jien-ming drilled an RBI double off Brother starter Orlando Roman. The leadoff hitter for Sinon tallied two hits in the game, while Cheng Da-hong drove in a pair of runs with a 2-for-3 effort to lead a nine-hit attack.

The Elephants threatened to get on the board in the first two frames, but went hitless in four at-bats and stranded six runners in scoring position.

UNI-PRESIDENT 5, LA NEW 1
Former Major Leaguer Luther Hackman scattered a lone run over seven solid innings, and the Uni-President Lions topped the La New Bears at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium.

The Bears struck first when Tsai Jien-wei plated Chang Jia-hao with a sacrifice fly in the third, but Kao Guo-ching put the two-time reigning CPBL champion out front for good with a two-run bomb off Bear starter Luis Villarreal.

Uni-President closer Kao Jien-san tallied the final six outs to earn the save.

Chinese Professional Baseball League

* First Half Champion

“The holding of the first IBAF Little League championship in the nation’s capital will be the best gift to the Republic of China on its 100th founding anniversary, which will be celebrated next year, ” Hau told the China News Agency.

The global event will feature teams from the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Mexico was also interested in hosting the competition before yielding to Taiwan prior to an IBAF Executive Committee meeting in Puerto Rico.

Both the opening and closing ceremonies of the championship will be held at the Tienmu Baseball Stadium, which will have its facilities upgraded for the international competition. The baseball fields at the Xinsheng Park and the Riverside Park will be used as the secondary venues for the tournament.

Tsan, a second-year outfielder out of the National Taiwan College of Physical Education, connected for his first career long ball in the third off Sinon starter Chang Keng-hao (4-4), a two-run shot, to put the Bears on the board. Lin drove in two more scores one frame later with another deep blast for the visiting squad at the Hsinchu Municipal Baseball Stadium.

Sinon, which won the first half crown with a 36-23-1 record, made things interesting with a pair of runs in the seventh off reliever Hsu Ming-jeh before Tseng Jau-hao trotted out of the bullpen to quelch the uprising.

Villarreal (4-2), a converted reliever, gave up four hits in another sterling outing since being thrown into the starting rotation by La New manager Tsai Rong-tsung.

BROTHER ELEPHANTS POUND UNI-PRESIDENT LIONS
Chen Jiang-ho had three hits, and Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min and Wang Sheng-wei drove in two runs apiece, to lead the Brother Elephants past the Uni-President Lions, 10-4, to complete a sweep of the three-game weekend set.

The Elephants chased Uni-President starter Wang Jing-ming (5-2) in the third, and enjoyed a 5-1 cushion after six frames. The Brother franchise put the game out of reach with a five-run seventh off reliever Pan Jung-rong to seal the win.

Carlos Castillo (8-5) worked eight strong innings allowing just a lone score to notch the win.

Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL)

* First Half Champion

Photo courtesy of CNA

The Elephants (2-2) tagged La New starter Luis Villarreal with a run in the opening frame on a run-scoring single by Peng, who raised his league-best batting average to .338.

The score remained unchanged until the seventh when the Elephants plated another run on Chang Cheng-wei’s RBI double into the right-field corner. The Bears finally got on the board in the bottom of the same frame when Chen Chin-fong connected for his fourth homer – a solo shot – to cut the lead in half.

Peng, who enjoyed his second three-hit game of the week, added an insurance run in the ninth with a solo homer off Bears reliever Geng Bo-hsuen.

Roman (1-1) turned in a masterful outing allowing just four hits and no walks while tallying four strikeouts to earn the win. American closer Ryan Cullen finished off the win to pick up his 15th save.

BULLS 9, LIONS 3
Lin Yi-chuan homered and drove in three runs to lead the unbeaten Sinon Bulls past the Uni-President Lions Saturday in Tainan for their fourth consecutive win to open the second half CPBL schedule.

Sinon starter Yang Jien-fu paced the first-half champions on the mound, giving up just one run in seven innings to notch his sixth win of the season.

The Bulls will meet the Lions Sunday in Douliu, while the Elephants will clash with the Bears in Jhouji.

The 17-year-old, who is 5′10″ and weighs190 lbs, tops out at 90 mph and throws a fastball/sinker/slider/forkball mix. He has a good delivery and is physically mature for his age, according to Taiwan Baseball.

PIRATES INK YUNG CHI CHEN
The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed former Oakland A’s minor league infielder Yung Chi Chen. He originally started with Seattle, and was claimed off of waivers by the Athletics prior to the start of the 2009 season. Chen, whose is in his seventh season in affiliated ball, has struggled with injuries throughout his career.

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Baseball

The mayor, who along with other city officials have budgeted $36,000 to promote the sport in elementary schools, visited the owner of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) franchise, Liu Pao-you, recently to urge him not to relocate his team.

Rumors are abound that the Bears, which have called Kaohsiung County home for the past six years, are contemplating a move to to Chingpu Baseball Stadium in Taoyuan County. Attendance at home games for the Bears havestagnated at 2,000 while Chingpu Baseball Stadium enjoys the highest fan support in the country with an average of narly 8,000 spectators a game.

The La New Bears is one of just four teams remaining in the CPBL, which almost folded earlier this year when two dozen players were charged in the latest of a series of match-fixing scandals.

Original Article: The China Post

The Lions struck quickly to grab the lead in the opening frame. Yang Seng reached on a two-base hit, and sprinted home on a single up the middle by Kuo Dai-chi at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium.

Sinon pulled even the following inning when Veras tagged Uni-President starter Luther Hackman with an RBI base hit, and took a one-run lead in the fourth on another run-scoring single by Veras.

The Bulls added a pair of insurance scores in the seventh on RBI hits by Cheng Da-hong and Chang Tai-shan, and then survived a late rally by the reigning CPBL champion to seal the victory.

Yang (5-1) allowed five hits and a lone run over seven-plus innings to notch the win.

ELEPHANTS 5, BEARS 1
The Brother Elephants roughed up La New Bears reliever Tseng Jau-hao for three runs in the final frame to capture their eighth win in their last 10 games. Carlos Castillo scattered a run and five hits with three strikeouts in Kaohsiung County.

The 18-year-old, who stands six-foot-one, reportedly has a smooth delivery with a clean arm action. The souting report at the Taiwanese baseball web site listed the following analysis:

“Although his arm speed is just average, he is very projectable. Earlier this year, his fastball was in the low 80’s but he has hit 88 mph quite a few times in the current Yu-Shan Cup. He has also flashed an above average changeup that he throws for a strike.”

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Baseball