Game 6 of the Taiwan Series between the Wei Chuan Dragons and CTBC Brothers on Monday gave the Dragons a third opportunity to claim their second championship in four years. The Brothers became the first team in Taiwan Series history to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0. Mario Sánchez started for the Brothers, while CC Mercedes took the mound for the Dragons.
After both pitchers put up zeroes through 2 1/2 innings, the Dragons mounted the game’s biggest threat in the bottom of the third. They put runners on the corners with one out. After Tian-Shin Kuo was thrown out at second base, Cheng-Yu Chang delivered a clutch two-out single to break the scoreless tie and give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.
Mercedes dominated the Brothers through five innings before Yu-Chieh Kao recorded their first hit with a leadoff double in the top of the sixth. After a sacrifice bunt moved Kao to third with one out, Mercedes escaped the Brothers’ biggest threat with a groundout to third and a flyout to left field, preserving the 1-0 lead through 5 1/2 innings.
Mercedes carried a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning as the Dragons held a slim 1-0 lead. After allowing a one-out single, Mercedes induced an inning-ending double play and celebrated with his team just three outs away from the Taiwan Series championship.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Dragons put runners on first and second with no outs as they looked to add insurance runs. Ji-Hong Liu and Yu-Hsien Chu followed with consecutive singles to extend the lead to 3-0. Jun-Wei Liu then drove in Liu with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
Shao-Hong Jiang delivered the decisive blow with a two-run home run, extending the Dragons’ lead to 6-0.
With two outs in the ninth, the Dragons brought in closer Kai-Wei Lin to record the final out. Cheng-Yu Chang made a diving stop and throw to first base to seal the 6-0 victory and secure the Wei Chuan Dragons’ second Taiwan Series title since the franchise was re-established in 2019.
CC Mercedes Named Taiwan Series MVP- With the championship within reach, Mercedes delivered when the Dragons needed him most. His eight shutout innings helped clinch the title, and he was named Taiwan Series MVP after pitching 14 innings, allowing just one run and striking out nine.
The Brothers made a remarkable run this season. After finishing last in the first half with a 20-38-2 record, they went 36-24 to win the second half and defeated the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions to advance to the Taiwan Series.
In a matchup between the league’s best offense and its best pitching staff, pitching prevailed. The Dragons recorded three shutouts and allowed just one run in another game. Their top three starters combined to allow only four runs across five starts, stifling a Brothers offense that averaged five runs per game in the second half.
In the Taiwan Series, the Dragons held the Brothers to an average of just 1.67 runs per game.