CTBC Brothers Complete Turnaround to Return to Taiwan Series

The CTBC Brothers and Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions opened their best-of-five playoff series Friday, with the Brothers receiving an automatic 1-0 lead as a half season champion. The winner would punch their ticket to the Taiwan Series.

Game 1

The Brothers got their bats going in the first inning. Wei-Chen Wang delivered an RBI single four batters into the bottom of the frame to give the Brothers a 1-0 lead. Kun-Yu Chiang walked with the bases loaded two batters later to make it 2-0. Wei-Sheng Huang then hit into a fielder’s choice to extend the lead to 3-0 against Lions ace Brock Dykxhoorn.

With a three-run lead, Brothers starter Mario Sánchez began to cruise. Through the first four innings, Sánchez allowed three hits and struck out four.

The Lions finally broke through in the top of the fifth. With two outs, Chih-Cheng Chiu hit an opposite-field double over left fielder Song-En Tseng’s head to drive in Hong-Xian Lin and cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Brothers immediately got the run back in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Cheng-Jui Sung singled to left field to score Jen-Wei Chang and extend the lead to 4-1.

Sánchez made the lead stand up. He retired seven of his final eight batters, finishing with seven strong innings and allowing one run while striking out six.

With two runners on and two outs in the eighth, left-hander Yen-Ching Lu entered in a high-pressure situation for the Brothers. He escaped the jam and retired all four batters he faced to seal a 4-1 victory.

The win gave the Brothers a 2-0 lead in the series, including their automatic advantage, and pushed the Lions to the brink of elimination.

Game 2

Facing elimination, the Lions needed a win in Game 2 and got a pitchers’ duel between Jordan Balazovic and Félix Peña.

The Brothers loaded the bases with one out in the first, but Balazovic recorded a strikeout and a foul out to keep the game scoreless. After both teams went scoreless through three innings, the Brothers threatened again in the 4th. With runners on the corners and one out, Balazovic induced a ground-ball double play to escape another jam.

Balazovic delivered another scoreless inning in the fifth before the Lions finally broke through offensively in the bottom half. With runners on the corners and one out, Chih-Cheng Chiu hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the game’s first run.

Balazovic followed with a scoreless sixth inning, putting himself in line for the win before turning the game over to the bullpen.

The Lions looked for insurance in the seventh. They recorded a hit with a runner on second and two outs, but Brothers left fielder Song-En Tseng threw a strike to home plate to record the out and keep the deficit at one.

Despite holding a slim lead, the Lions’ relievers delivered. Jackson Stephens pitched two perfect innings, and closer Yun-Hua Chung retired the side in order in the ninth to secure a 1-0 victory.

The win kept the Lions alive and cut the series deficit to 2-1.

Game 3

Back in Taichung for Game 3, the Lions once again faced elimination. Against one of the Brothers’ top pitchers, Nivaldo Rodríguez, the Lions got off to a fast start.

Pei-Wei Lin hit a two-out RBI double four batters into the game to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The advantage did not last long. In the bottom of the first, Cheng-Jui Sung delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 1.

The Brothers took the lead in the third. With two outs, Song-En Tseng doubled before Wei-Chen Wang singled him home. Tseng narrowly beat the throw to the plate to give the Brothers a 2-1 advantage.

The Brothers loaded the bases with two outs and a chance to break the game open, prompting the Lions to bring in Jackson Stephens. Pitching for the second consecutive day, the right-hander escaped the jam and gave the Lions a much-needed boost.

The Lions responded in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corners and two outs, Chih-Cheng Chiu delivered an RBI single to right field to tie the game at 2. One batter later, Chia-Wei Lin singled up the middle to drive in another run and give the Lions a 3-2 lead.

The Brothers threatened again in the fifth, putting runners on the corners with one out, but Stephens induced a clutch inning-ending double play to preserve the lead.

In the sixth, the Brothers again put a runner 90 feet from home, but Stephens stranded the tying run for the second consecutive inning. A night after throwing two scoreless innings with the Lions holding a one-run lead, Stephens delivered 3 1/3 scoreless innings and left the Lions nine outs away from tying the series.

The Lions added a crucial insurance run in the eighth. After a leadoff triple, Sheng-Ping Chen hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Jen-Wei Chang made a leaping catch to rob Chen of a potential two-run home run, but the sacrifice fly still extended the Lions’ lead to 4-2.

Lions closer Yua-Hung Chung took the mound in the bottom of the ninth to try to secure a second consecutive victory. After retiring the first two batters, he walked Chun-Hsiu Chen to bring the tying run to the plate.

Chung then got Jen-Wei Chang to tap the ball back to the mound, sealing a 4-2 victory and tying the series at 2. The result forced a decisive game 4, with the winner advancing to the Taiwan Series.

Game 4

Hao-Chun Chang started on the mound for the Brothers, while Dykxhoorn returned on two days’ rest for the Lions with a Taiwan Series berth on the line.

The starters matched zeroes through 3 1/2 innings before the Brothers broke through in the bottom of the fourth. With a runner on second and two outs, Kun-Yu Chiang hit an RBI double to right-center field to give the Brothers a 1-0 lead.

Dykxhoorn exited after four innings, and the Brothers took advantage of the Lions’ bullpen. After two infield hits and a single to left loaded the bases, the Brothers drew three consecutive bases-loaded walks to extend their lead to 4-0.

The Lions got a run back in the sixth on Cheng-Ling Li’s RBI single. With the tying run at the plate, Yen-Ching Lu recorded a flyout just short of the warning track to end the threat.

The Brothers then swung the momentum back in their favor. Jen-Wei Chang hit a solo home run to make it 5-1, delivering a key contribution from an unlikely source. Chang had hit just six home runs in 240 career regular-season games and none in the postseason.

In the biggest game of the season for the Brothers, he came through when it mattered most.

The Brothers continued to display their power in the seventh when Tzu-Hsien Chan hit a solo home run. Although the Lions’ pitching staff had held the Brothers to a combined six runs through the first three games, the decisive performance in Game 4 showed why the Brothers had established themselves as the CPBL’s best offense in the second half.

With the Brothers three outs away from winning the series in the bottom of the eighth, Kun-Yu Chiang and Wei-Sheng Huang each delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 8-1 and put the game out of reach.

In the ninth, with the Brothers leading 8-1, Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions legend Yung-Chi Chen came to the plate for the final at-bat of his career.

Chen, the Lions’ all-time career home run leader, singled to right field and received a standing ovation from the crowd in Taichung. An emotional Chen saluted the fans as he was replaced by a pinch runner and received the ball from his final plate appearance, marking the end of a memorable career. Following the game, Chen shook the hand of every Brothers player and coach, and Brothers and Lions fans chanted his name as he walked off the field at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium for the very last time as an active player.

The Lions scored another run, but it was not enough. Cheng-Jui Sung caught a fly ball to center field with two runners on base to end the game, securing an 8-2 victory for the Brothers and clinching the series.

The win sent the Brothers to their 11th Taiwan Series in 13 years. They will pursue their fourth championship in six years as they look to further cement their status as the CPBL’s premier team.

Brothers Complete Remarkable Turnaround

The series victory capped a remarkable turnaround for the Brothers. After struggling to a 20-38-2 record in the first half, they were led by the CPBL’s clear-cut top offense in the second half and demonstrated that strength in their decisive win over the Lions.

The Brothers will face the Wei Chuan Dragons in the Taiwan Series. The Dragons posted the best record in the regular season and earned a spot in the Taiwan Series as the half-season champion with the best record.

Since returning to the CPBL in 2021, the Dragons have made one previous Taiwan Series appearance, defeating the Rakuten Monkeys in seven games in 2023.

This time, they will face the CTBC Brothers, one of the CPBL’s most successful franchises. The matchup pits what has become the league’s most productive offense against its top pitching staff. After falling short in last year’s Taiwan Series, the Brothers will look for redemption.

Dragons Hold the Pitching Advantage

John Gant is the likely Game 1 starter for the Dragons. He led the CPBL with a 1.49 ERA and 136 strikeouts.

The Dragons also boast considerable depth in their rotation, featuring four of the league’s top starters.

CC Mercedes ranked third in the CPBL with a 1.79 ERA and has posted a 1.24 ERA since the beginning of August. Drew Gagnon, the Dragons’ No. 3 starter, ranked fifth with a 2.31 ERA and recorded 111 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings.

Marcelo Martínez, the team’s No. 4 starter, fell just short of the minimum innings required to qualify for the ERA rankings but would have ranked 11th with a 2.88 ERA.

All four of Wei Chuan’s top starters have lower ERAs than any starter on the Brothers’ roster. When it comes to pitching, no team in the CPBL can compare to the Dragons.

Brothers Hold the Offensive Edge

While the pitching advantage heavily favors the Dragons, the offensive comparison reveals a similarly significant gap in the opposite direction.

The Brothers scored 106 more runs than the Dragons in the second half. They averaged five runs per game, compared with 3.2 for Wei Chuan.

If the Brothers are to come out on top, it will be because of the firepower at the plate.

Taiwan Series Set for Taipei Dome

Game 1 of the best-of-seven Taiwan Series is scheduled for Saturday at the Taipei Dome. If the series goes the distance, Game 7 would be on October 25th.

For the first time, every game of the Taiwan Series will be played at the Taipei Dome. The Dragons will be the designated home team for Games 1, 2 and 5-7.