LIONS SLIP PAST BEARS FOR TAIWANESE LEAGUE LEAD

Following an offseason that featured a gambling scandal and the reduction of two teams, the folks running Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League can be forgiven if they breathe a collective sigh of relief now that attention on their league is centered on a tight pennant race.


The defending champion Uni-President Lions and the La New Bears have been swapping the lead in the CPBL standings all season, with the Sinon Bulls staying in the mix. Only the Brother Elephants appear to be out of contention, although you can never say “never” in baseball.

The Lions topped the Bulls, 7-5, May 25 to pull to a 22-16-2 record while Sinon fell to 20-18-2. Uni-President third baseman Jose Castillo went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Castillo, who played for the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros last season, came to the Lions in early May after failing to stick with the Washington Nationals this spring.

One night later, the Bears lost to the Elephants, 6-4, in front of over 7,000 fans. Brother’s Chia Chia hit a homer with three RBIs to lift his team to a 14-26-1 mark while the Bears fell to 21-17-1.