[ CBL Week 2 Highlight ]

Tianjin wins three straight against rival Beijing,
extends winning streak to six
Savior emerges at Jiangsu, losing streak ends

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In week two of the CBL (China Baseball League), games were played at Tianjin, Shanghai and Wuxi, and all three games were affected by the weather. Among them, Game Three of the three-game set between the Tianjin Lions and the Beijing Tigers on Sunday, April 20th saw a 30-minute long rain delay after the end of the fifth, making things tough for the players, but they overcame such difficulties and all nine CBL games were played as scheduled.

[Shanghai Golden Eagles vs Guangdong Leopards – Shanghai Pudong Baseball Stadium]

For Shanghai, this was their opening series at home. The opener, which was played on Friday, April 18th, was televised on Shanghai TV and the players and those involved with the team were very excited about the game. It was a tight game until the middle innings, when the score was 2-2, but Shanghai added runs in the seventh and eighth innings to seal their first victory of the season at home. The final score was 7-2. They were able to live up to their fans’ expectations in a big way. On the following day (Saturday, April 19th), Shanghai’s young pitching staff had trouble locating the ball, and beat themselves by surrendering nine walks. Wang Jun, Guangdong’s left-handed submariner, held Shanghai's offense to six base hits and one run until seventh inning, and led his team to their first victory of the season. Guangdong won 14-1 on the mercy rule. After splitting the first two games, Game 3, which was played on Sunday, April 20th, saw Dong Shi, Shanghai’s starter, pitched superbly through eight innings, allowing only two base hits and no runs. Cheng Hai Feng did his job in the ninth, and Shanghai won easily, 4-0. Shanghai was able to win a very important series against Guangdong, one of their biggest division rivals.

* Click here to view photos of games between Shanghai and Guangdong from week two. http://www.cbl.org.cn/photo/index.asp?pic_type=600202

[Tianjin Lions vs Beijing Tigers – Tianjin Dodgers Baseball Stadium]

At Tianjin, all of the attention was on the match-up between the two best teams in the league. In the opener, which was played on Friday, April 18th, Beijing had the momentum until the middle innings and hit eleven base hits that were more than Tianjin did, but the offense went silent toward the end of the game when it most mattered. Meanwhile, with the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, after a walk and a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second, Tianjin scored the game deciding run on an RBI single by cleanup hitter Yang Guo Gang. Game Two was a very close contest as well. Although Tianjin had a 4-1 lead at the end of the fourth inning and seemed to be on their way to an easy victory, Beijing answered back with four runs in the fifth, including a homerun by Zhang Wei. The game settled down into a pitching dual after the sixth inning, but Tianjin's third pitcher Su Chang Long pitched strong in relief, which allowed the Lions to escape with the win, 6-5. The third game of the series, which was played on Sunday April 20th, was affected by rain, but Beijing, who sought to prove themselves, had a 6-2 lead in the top of the sixth. It appeared as though Beijing was on their way to answering back with one victory, but Beijing’s second pitcher, Wu Meng, was very wild. After surrendering four runs in the seventh to give up the lead, he gave up many more runs in the bottom of the eighth after his team took the lead in the top half of the inning, and was finished for the game. Tianjin won 13-7 for a three-game sweep and the “classical game” came to an end.

* Click here to View photos of games between Tianjin and Beijing from week two. . http://www.cbl.org.cn/photo/index.asp?pic_type=600203

[Jiangsu Hope Stars vs Sichuan Dragons – Jiangsu Wuxi Baseball Stadium]

Jiangsu, yet to win a game since the opening of the season, is looking for the right lineup of players that would allow them to win games. The team is full of young players and if the guidance of Manager Kenichi Sato and Coach Kazumi Sonokawa, who have been sent over from the Chiba Lotte Marines (NPB), pays off, there is great potential for the team to improve. In the first game, which was played on Friday, April 18th, the three pitchers for the Sichuan Dragons combined for a 7-0 shutout to give the Dragons the victory. In Game Two, which was played through the rain, Jiangsu received tremendous support from their fans and almost came up with the victory but came up just short, losing to Sichuan 7-6. However, there was a savior that emerged on the field for Jiangsu, whose losing streak dates back to last season. Gu Shuai Nan, Jiangsu’s starting pitcher in Game Three, has recently returned from being an exchange student at a high school in Japan known for its own baseball team after graduating a local high school. Gu pitched all nine innings allowing only four base hits for a complete-game win. He was successful in halting Jiangsu's losing streak as well as giving his team their first victory of the season.

*Click here to view photos of games between Jiangsu and Sichuan from week two. http://www.cbl.org.cn/photo/index.asp?pic_type=600201

Week two of the CBL season has come to an end. In the Southwest/Northern China Division, the Tianjin Lions, who have won six straight games to begin the season, lead the way, followed by the Sichuan Dragons who are 3-3. The Beijing Tigers have surprisingly dropped their three games and are in last place in the division. In the Southeast/Eastern China Division, the Shanghai Golden Eagles have continued their winnings ways and lead the division with a record of 5-1. The Guangdong Leopards and the Jiangsu Hope Stars each have one victory but Guangdong, who has more total score, is in second place and Jiangsu in third.

In week three, the attention will be on the series at Wuxi. The match-up will be between Guangdong and Jiangsu who have one victory a piece. It will be interesting to see how the Jiangsu players, who have ended their losing streak and are excited about the emergence of the “savior”, will play against Guangdong, last year's division champions. The game at Chengdu between Tianjin and Sichuan will be fun to watch as well. For the Sichuan Dragons, who are aiming for their first playoff birth, this series against last year’s champion Tianjin is going to be their biggest challenge in the first half of the season. It will also be interesting to see how Beijing, who is off to a slow start, will respond against Shanghai to get back on track.