[ CBL Week 4 Highlight ]

Beijing on a roll, wins three straight against Guangdong.
Jiangsu’s Sun Guo Qiang tosses complete game, reaches double digits in strikeouts for second straight game

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In week four of the CBL, nine games were played in the three cities of Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou from Friday, May 2nd to Sunday May 4th. The match-ups between the Tianjin Lions and the Sichuan Dragons (Tianjin Dodgers Baseball Stadium) as well as the Shanghai Golden Eagles and the Jiangsu Hopestars (Shanghai Pudong Baseball Stadium) were both between division rivals and were critical series in the first half that will have an impact on the pennant race. The Guangdong Leopards and the Beijing Tigers, both teams that have gotten off to slow starts here in the early going, faced each other at Guangzhou Baseball Stadium (the home field of the Guangdong Leopards).

[Guangdong Leopards vs Beijing Tigers - Guangzhou Baseball Stadium]

The starters in Game One were Zhao Xue Lin for Guangdong and Li Hong Rui for Beijing. The game was a pitching dual, as both pitchers pitched well until the middle innings. Beijing led the game 1-0 at the end of five. But in the bottom of the sixth, Guangdong answered back with two runs on an RBI hit by pinch hitter Ma Hui Li and took a 2-1 lead. However, in the top of the seventh, Guangdong’s second pitcher Wang Jun suddenly became wild and the Leopards, despite sending out relievers Meng Wei Qiang and Lu Chao into the game, surrendered a total of four runs in the inning. In the end, Beijing won the opener, 5-3. In Game Two, Beijing kept a lead during the whole game. Beijing’s one-two combination of Ma Ke, who went 5 for 5 with 3 RBIs, and Cui Xiao, who had three base hits with 4 RBI's, exploded for the Tigers. Pitchers Wu Meng and Zhou Jing were also effective and Beijing won in a blowout, 12-4. In Game Three, with the game knotted at 2 in the top of the fifth, the top of Beijing’s lineup connected with five consecutive hits and was able to feast on Guangdong's pitching. In the bottom of the ninth, Feng Yi slugged a solo home run for the Leopards but it was not enough and Beijing won easily, 10-6. The Tigers improved their record to 7-5 and remained in second place in their division. Guangdong finished their opening series at home with an embarrassing three-game losing streak.

* Click here to view photos of games between Guangdong and Beijing from week four.
 http://www.cbl.org.cn/photo/index.asp?pic_type=600403

[Shanghai Golden Eagles vs Jiangsu Hopstars - Shanghai Pudong Baseball Stadium]

Jiangsu had a chance to move up in the standings while division rival Guangdong battled powerful Beijing. Jiangsu, who really needed to win Game One, was led by veteran pitcher Sun Go Qiang, who despite surrendering a run in the first, continued to pitch effectively just as he did the previous week, giving up only one run through eight innings. Jiangsu led 4-1 at the end of eight. Shanghai, refusing to lose, pulled within a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on three consecutive base hits. With a runner on, cleanup batter Chen Qi blasted a ball that looked to be a walk-off home run off the bat but came up about 1 meter short, and Jiangsu barely hung on. Sun followed his shutout performance from previous week with a twelve-strikeout complete game win. The early portion of Game Two was a pitching dual between two young pitchers; Gao Jian for Jiangsu and Dong Shi for Shanghai. Both pitchers pitched a tough game, but with the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the sixth, following a walk, Shanghai got three base hits and took a 2 run lead. They added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh on four consecutive hits and Shanghai won easily, 7-2. With the series knotted at one, Game Three’s starting pitchers were Yang Zhen for the Golden Eagles and Zhang Xiang for the Hopestars. Although Jiangsu scored a run in the top of the first, Shanghai’s number five batter Chen Qi blasted a go ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the first. The game went back and forth after this and Shanghai led 6-5 at the end of eight. Although Jiangsu tied the game in the top of the eighth on two base hits and a walk, they gave up the lead in the bottom of the inning on an infield error and three walks. The run on a bases loaded walk turned out to be the game winning run. Shanghai won 7-6 and the fans in attendance, which included both Chinese and fans from abroad, were quite satisfied with the action packed game.

* Click here to view photos of games between Shanghai and Jiangsu from week four.
  http://www.cbl.org.cn/photo/index.asp?pic_type=600401

[Tianjin Lions vs Sichuan Dragons - Tianjin Dodgers Baseball Stadium]

In Game One, although Sichuan scored two runs to take the lead in the top of the fourth, this year’s Lions team has been able to answer back with runs immediately after giving up a lead. In the bottom of the inning, after the first two batters reached base on back-to-back hits, cleanup batter Luo Yu Bin hit a double and just like that the game was tied. Number five batter, Liu Jian Zhong hit an RBI single to right field to give Tianjin a 3-2 lead. Tianjin, who bunched some more hits in the seventh and eighth innings, won the first game 12-4. Sichuan answered back with a run in the top of the eighth on an inside-the-park home run by Xie Peng but it was not nearly enough. In Game Two, Tianjin, who was on a role, scored five runs in the first on three consecutive hits by players such as the cleanup hitter Luo Yu Bin and gained the momentum in the game. Tianjin pitcher Bai Bao Liang allowed runners on base in every inning but limited the damage and the Lions had a 6-2 lead at the end of six. The game was called at this point due to the rain that became heavy way through the game. In Game Three, Sichuan, who desperately hoped to avoid a three game sweep, scored twice with two outs in the first on a triple by number five batter Liu Ya Qing. However, Tianjin's momentum in this series just could not be stopped. After getting six hits, including three doubles, off of Sichuan starter Yin Bing Xian and scoring six runs in the bottom of the first, they continued to tack on more runs and had gotten a total of 15 hits by the seventh inning. In the end, Tianjin won once again on the mercy rule, 13-3. Sichuan, whose pitchers fell apart in the three-game set by surrendering a total of 31 runs, fell further behind second place Beijing.

* Click here to view photos of games between Tianjin and Sichuan from week four.
  http://www.cbl.org.cn/photo/index.asp?pic_type=600402

As week four comes to an end, Tianjin has maintained their commanding lead in the Southwest/Northern China division with a record of 11-1. Beijing, with their three-game sweep, remains in second place and has expanded their lead over third place Sichuan to 3 games. Meanwhile, in the Southeast/Eastern China Division, Shanghai leads the way with a record of 8-4. Guandong and Jiangsu both have 3 wins but, as was the case last week, Guangdong, who has a higher total score, is in second place and Jiangsu in third.

Next week, games will be played from Friday, May 9th to Sunday, May 11th. Guangdong will remain in Guangzhou and host Sichuan. Both of these teams lost all three games in week four. It will be interesting to see which team will rise to the occasion. Jiangsu will host the Beijing Tigers, who are beginning to play well, in Wuxi. All of the focus in this series will be on what kind performance Jiangsu, whose young players are blossoming through the valuable experience of all the tight games, will show. The battle between Jiangsu sidearmer Sun Guo Qiang, who is coming off back-to-back games with double-digit strikeouts, and the Beijing offense is going to be fun to watch. The game at Tianjin between the Tianjin Lions and the Shanghai Golden Eagles will be a battle between the two division leaders. How will Shanghai's young pitchers, such as Dong Shi and Chen Hai Feng, fare against Tianjin's potent offense led by cleanup batter Luo Yu Bin?