The Chinese Professional Baseball League regular season is nearing its conclusion, with five days remaining and two playoff spots still up for grabs.

Brothers remain in first

The CTBC Brothers have bounced back from a 20-37-2 last-place finish in the first half with a complete turnaround, going from worst to first in the second half.

The Brothers traveled to face the TSG Hawks on Wednesday night. They entered the night with a half-game lead over the Rakuten Monkeys, but Rakuten lost to the Wei Chuan Dragons 5-3. A victory would give the Brothers a 1 1/2-game lead over Rakuten.

The Brothers got rolling early. An RBI fielder’s choice gave them a 1-0 lead, and Cheng-Jui Sung doubled off the wall to make it 2-0. Jen-Wei Chang followed with a ground ball through the hole between first and second, extending the lead to 3-0 in the second inning. Song-En Tseng singled with two outs in the fourth to make it 4-0.

The Brothers’ offense continued to punish TSG starter Wilmer Font in the fifth. With two on and two outs, Shr-Lun Chang hit a double that one-hopped off the center-field fence, driving in two runs. Jen-Wei Chang followed with his second RBI single of the game to make it 7-0.

From there, the Brothers’ pitching staff took care of the Hawks.

Brothers starter Mario Sánchez was virtually unhittable. He did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth and finished with two hits allowed over seven scoreless innings, striking out six. Only one Hawks runner reached scoring position against him.

The Hawks scored a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly but never seriously threatened the Brothers. TSG managed just three hits in a 7-1 loss.

In two games against the Hawks this week, the Brothers scored 26 runs on 35 hits. After a difficult first half offensively, the Brothers have been the top offensive team in the CPBL in the second half. They are averaging 4.9 runs per game, while no other team is averaging 4 runs per game.

The victory moved the Brothers 1 1/2 games ahead of the Monkeys. The Brothers have two games remaining, while Rakuten has five. If the teams are tied after Monday, a one-game playoff will determine the second-half champion.

Lions extend lead for wild-card spot

After finishing second in the first half with a 34-26 record, the Fubon Guardians have struggled in the second half. After holding a comfortable lead for the wild-card spot, they were overtaken by the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions.

The Guardians hosted the Lions on Wednesday night in a crucial matchup between the two teams. It was the second-to-last meeting between the clubs in 2026. The Lions entered the game with a half-game lead, with the winner moving into the third and final playoff spot.

The Guardians jumped ahead in the first inning. After loading the bases with one out, Hao-Wei Shen drove in two runs with a single to center field.

The Lions got one run back on a bases-loaded hit by pitch in the third, but Guardians starter Shawn Morimando escaped further trouble to preserve a 2-1 lead.

An inning later, the Lions pulled even. With two outs in the fourth, Sheng-Ping Chen delivered an RBI triple to tie the game. Chia-Wei Lin followed with an RBI single to give the Lions the lead.

The offenses were relatively quiet until the eighth inning. With two outs in the top of the inning, Sheng-Ping Chen struck again, hitting a solo home run to give the Lions a 4-2 lead.

That was all the offense the Lions needed. Their pitching staff held Fubon scoreless over the final eight innings, including four scoreless innings from the bullpen, which allowed just two hits.

The Lions won 4-2 and extended their lead for the final playoff spot to 1 1/2 games. The teams will meet Sunday again with a potential postseason berth on the line.

John Gant chasing CPBL history

Former MLB pitcher John Gant entered Thursday with a 1.36 ERA, which puts him on pace to break the CPBL record for lowest single-season ERA by a pitcher.

Brothers pitcher Jen-Wen Hsiao posted a 1.40 ERA in 2001, and that record is in danger of falling this season. Gant leads the CPBL in ERA and strikeouts with 132.

In his most recent start for the Wei Chuan Dragons, Gant pitched six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions.

Gant has also emerged as the leading candidate for the 2026 MVP award with his historic season with the Dragons.

Second half standings

CTBC Brothers 34-24

Rakuten Monkeys 31-24

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 31-26

Wei Chuan Dragons 26-30

Fubon Guardians 24-32

TSG Hawks 23-33

Full season wild card standings

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 60-55-1

Fubon Guardians 58-58

Rakuten Monkeys 55-58-2

CTBC Brothers 54-61-2

TSG Hawks 53-62-1

Wei Chuan Dragons*

*The Wei Chuan Dragons have already clinched a spot in the Taiwan Series as the best half-season champion.