Tale of Two Pitchers...

MLB:
Chien-Ming Wang pitched 5 solid innings today, allowing 1 run on 4 hits. He also had no walks and 3 K's to go along with 10 groundball outs. The Yanks lost 4-3 to to the Astros. Box/Recap
Wang's performance puts him on track to start the Yanks season opener against the Devil Rays on April 2nd.

Hong-Chih Kuo, on the otherhand, started against the Boston Red Sox Friday. With the media frenzy focused on Boston starter Matsuzaka, Kuo started well, throwing a scoreless first inning and K'ing 2 batters. However, in a game that was cancelled in the 3rd inning due to the downpour, Kuo's control went downhill from thereon out. In the second inning, he would give up 2 home runs - leaving the fastball up in the zone. Kuo's woes would continue in the 3rd as he walked Matsuzaka, who was instructed not to swing while at the plate. Kuo would then allow his 3rd HR of the game later in that same inning, before mercifully, the rain came pouring down and put an end to a miserable start for Kuo. Although Kuo's stats will not be affected because of the game postponement, his forgettable outing significantly hurts his chances of claiming the 5th starting spot.

NPB:

E.Y. Lin
photo courtesy of rakuteneagles.jp

Y.C. Lin
photo courtesy of rakuteneagles.jp

Both Lins pitched well for the Rakuten Eagles as they shutout the Yakult Swallows 6-0 on Friday. En-Yu Lin started and threw 5.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing 2 hits and K'ing 3 batters. Ying-Chieh Lin pitched in relief, allowing 3 hits while K'ing 2.

In other Friday NPB action, Ming-Chieh Hsu earned a save for the Seibu Lions as they defeated the Yomiuri Giants 4-3.
Si-Yo Wu started for the Lotte Marines against the Hanshin Tigers and got shelled. Wu lasted 4.1 innings, allowing 5 runs on 10 hits. Wu had 1 K and 1 walk as well. Tigers OF Wei-Chu Lin was 0-3, and was the lone K victim of Wu. The Tigers won 7-3.