The Chinese Professional Baseball League’s Taiwan Series is set after the Rakuten Monkeys defeated the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in the CPBL playoff series early Oct. 13.
The Monkeys, who trailed 2–0 in the series, won three straight games — including a comeback victory in the decisive Game 4 — to clinch their spot in the championship. They will face the CTBC Brothers beginning Oct. 18 in the best-of-seven Taiwan Series.
Rakuten Monkeys/Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions Playoff Series Recap
It was a thrilling matchup between the Monkeys and the Lions. Under CPBL rules, because the Uni-Lions won the first half of the regular season, they began the series with a 1–0 lead over the Monkeys.
Game 1 set the tone with a tight pitcher’s duel. Jackson Stephens of the Lions and Marcelo Martínez both pitched well into the seventh. Stephens was the only starter to finish the seventh, as with the score tied 1–1 heading into the frame, Martínez’s outing ended when Chia-Wei Lin delivered a two-out RBI single to put the Lions ahead 2–1. Their bullpen held, giving Uni-Lions a 2–0 series lead.
In Game 2, in their only home game of the series, the Monkeys avoided elimination with a 7–6 walk-off win. Sung Jia-Ziang hit a gapper over Lions center fielder Chia-Wei Lin’s head to seal the victory.
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The Lions had taken a 2–0 lead in the first inning and later stretched the lead with four runs in the top of the fifth. The Monkeys rallied, scoring three in the bottom of the sixth, one in the bottom of the eighth to tie it, and then delivered the walk-off in the bottom of the ninth.
In Game 3, the Monkeys rode momentum all the way to a 9–3 victory to force a fourth game. They knocked out Lions starter Yohander Méndez early as he allowed eight runs, four earned, and was pulled after 3 2/3 innings. Tzu-Wei Lin was the hero this game for the Monkeys, as he had two hits and three RBIs.