Staff Reports
World Baseball Network
The Wei Chuan Dragons grabbed a five-run lead in the first inning of game seven of the Taiwan Series and held on to win 6-3 over the Rakuten Monkeys and capture the 2023 Chinese Professional Baseball League championship.
The championship is the first for the Dragons since the franchise was re-started in 2021. A previous iteration of the Wei Chuan Dragons won the Taiwan Series in 1990, 1997, 1998, and 1999.
Dragons starter Drew Gagnon, who pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019, was the MVP of game seven, scattering five hits over six innings and striking out five while allowing two earned runs.
Catcher Shao-Hong Jiang and Hsiao-Yi Kao each had two RBI for the Dragons in the final game.
The Taiwan Series MVP was awarded to Dragons’ starter Jo-Hsi Hsu, who threw seven scoreless innings in Wei Chuan’s 2-0 win in game six.
The Dragons finished second in the first half of the season and won the second half, and posted the best record during the 2023 CPBL regular season, going 62-53-5.