2025 CPBL Playoff Series

The 2025 CPBL Playoff Series featured the Rakuten Monkeys against the Uni-President Lions; it was a rematch for the third straight year.

Teams

Uni-President Lions

The Lions led the first half of the 2024 CPBL season at 36-24 but slumped to 30-30 in the second half under manager Yueh-Ping Lin. They were led by one of the most outstanding batters of the year - former MVP An-Ko Lin (.318/.397/.603 with 23 homers). Young star Chia-Wei Lin (.275/.322/.408) was the other solid position player for them, but most of their regular starters like Chieh-Hsien Chen and Tzu-Hao Lin suffered from injuries. Their ace was Félix Peña (10-3, 1.91 ERA), who was one of three starter who had a sub-2 ERA. The Lions also had a reliable bullpen; Masaki Takashio led the league with 25 holds, and Yun-Wen Chen collected 21 saves with a 3.45 ERA.

Rakuten Monkeys

The Monkeys had an elite 1-2 punch in their rotation. Pedro Fernandez (15-2, 2.01 ERA) led the league in wins and Ks, and Marcelo Martínez (13-8, 2.51 ERA) was second in wins. Cheng-Yang Chu (51 G, 13 Sv, 1.25 ERA) and Kuan-Yu Chen (55 G, 23 HLD, 1.69 ERA) were two of the most dominant relievers of the year, but the other members of Rakuten's bullpen were not stable. Their offense relied on Chen-Wei Chen (.307/.366/.411, 28 SB) and Hung-Yu Lin (.307/.345/.415), but they lacked sluggers, and they were the only team that didn't have a 10-homer batter.

Games

Game 1

October 10 at Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium (13,124)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Uni-President Lions	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	4	3

Monkeys: Marcelo Martínez (L, 0-1)- Hsin-Yen Chuang - Chih-Hsuan Wang - Yin-Hao Lai - Kuan-Yu Chen

Lions: Jackson Stephens (W, 1-0) - Masaki Takashio (H, 1) - Yun-Wen Chen (S, 1)

Home Runs

The Lions were staked to a 1-0 lea in gamesd prior to the Series beginning. It was not only a rematch of last year, but also a déjà vu of last year's Game 1. The Monkeys scored first in the 5th inning thanks to Yung-Chi Chen's error, but the Lions roared back soon. Dai-An Lin drew a walk, Hung-Hsien Lin laid down a bunt, and Chieh-Hsien Chen knocked in the tying run of the game. In the 7th inning, the Lions scored again with the same script. Tzu-Chieh Lin drew a walk, Dai-An Lin bunted and Chia-Wei Lin's single gave them the winning run. Masaki Takashio and Yun-Wen Chen didn't gave the Monkeys any hope, and the Lions were one win away from returning to the Taiwan Series.

Game 2

October 11 at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium (18,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Uni-President Lions	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	6	7	1
Rakuten Monkeys	0	1	0	1	0	3	0	1	1	7	13	1

Lions: Félix Peña - Chun-Sheng Hsin (H, 1) - Cheng-Yu Wu (H, 1) - Masaki Takashio - Yun-Hua Chung (L, 0-1) - Chun Lee - Ching-Ming Wang

Monkeys: Pedro Fernandez - Chih-Hsuan Wang - Beau Sulser - Kuan-Yu Chen - Cheng-Yang Chu (W, 1-0)

Home Runs Hung-Yu Lin (1), Chia-Hsiang Sung (1), An-Ko Lin (2)

Both teams put their aces on the hill, and the Lions broke through against Pedro Fernandez in the first inning. Chih-Cheng Chiu hit a double first, then An-Ko Lin crushed a 2-run shot. Rakuten's Hung-Yu Lin answered back with a solo shot in the 2nd inning, but An-Ko Lin blasted the second homer of the game - a 3-run shot against Fernandez - to extend their lead in the 5th inning. It was the 5th time that a player hit multiple homers in the CPBL playoff series, but it's interesting that the former 4 teams all lost the game.

The Monkeys soon proved the curse was effective. Félix Peña had some troubles in the 6th inning as he allowed back-to-back hits to Hung-Yu Lin and Tzu-Wei Lin, then he walked Chih-Ping Lin to load the bases. Chia-Hsiang Sung then hit an infield single, and Min-Hsun Chang decreased the lead of the Lions to one run. In the 8th inning, CPBL holds leader Masaki Takashio tried to hold his team's win, but Chia-Hsiang Sung crushed a game-tying solo home run. He was the youngest player ever to hit a homer in a CPBL playoff series. The Lions didn't use their closer Yun-Wen Chen in the 9th inning, and rookie Yun-Hua Chung was on the mound instead. However, he walked Hung-Yu Lin, and Chia-Jung Liang hit a single. Southpaw Chun Lee relieved him, and he fanned Tzu-Wei Lin but walked Chieh-Sen Ma. Chia-Hsiang Sung then saved his team again, as he hit a walk-off single against Ching-Ming Wang.

Game 3

October 12 at Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium (11,102)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	3	5	0	0	0	0	1	9	10	0
Uni-President Lions	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	3

Monkeys: Tzu-Peng Huang (W, 1-0) - Hsin-Yen Chuang - Yin-Hao Lai - Chun-Chang Su

Lions: Yohander Méndez (L, 0-1) - Chun-Lin Kuo - Yu-Cheng Liu

Home Runs

After using all three foreigners in the first two games, submariner Tzu-Peng Huang started for Rakuten against Uni-President's Yohander Méndez. In the 3rd inning, Méndez walked Hsun-Chieh Lee, and Chung-Yu Chen, Tzu-Hao Lin committed two straight errors, then Chin Cheng loaded the bases with a infield single. Tzu-Wei Lin then drove in 2 runs with a single. Méndez's disaster didn't end. In the next inning, he gave up another three runs due to Cheng-Hua Lin and Tzu-Wei Lin's singles, and Chun-Lin Kuo relieved him. Hung-Yu Lin then added a single, and CF Chia-Wei Lin let the ball get though him so the bases were cleared, and the Monkeys grabbed the important win to tie the series.

Game 4

October 13 at Cheng Ching Lake Baseball Stadium (8,258)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	4	13	1
Uni-President Lions	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	0

Monkeys: Beau Sulser - Chih-Hsuan Wang - Marcelo Martínez - Cheng-Yang Chu - Kuan-Yu Chen - Pedro Fernandez (W, 1-0)

Lions: Chih-Wei Hu - Masaki Takashio (H, 2) - Yun-Wen Chen - Chun-Sheng Hsin (L, 0-1) - Cheng-Yu Wu

Home Runs Chih-Ping Lin (1)

In the win-or-go-home game, former MLB pitcher Chih-Wei Hu completely blanked Rakuten's lineup. He pitched 6 shutout innings, and he only allowed 4 hits. Beau Sulser also pitched 4 shutout innings, but the Lions broke through him in the 5th inning. Yung-Chi Chen and Chieh-Kai Pan both collected hits, and Sulser plunked Che-Yen Hsu. Dai-An Lin then drove in the first run of the game, and Chih-Hsuan Wang replaced Sulser. However, Wang then hit Hung-Hsien Lin, and the Lions got another run. In the 7th inning, Pan drew a walk, and Dai-An Lin extended Uni-President's lead to 3 runs. The Lions were three outs away from ending the season, and CPBL All-Time saves leader Yun-Wen Chen was on the mound in the 9th inning. However, he allowed two singles, to Chia-Jung Liang and Pin-Shih-Jung Ho, then Chih-Ping Lin tied the game with a 3-run home run. He was the oldest player ever to hit a homer in a CPBL playoff series. Rakuten got a run thanks to Li Lin's clutch RBI single in the 10th inning, and Game 2's starter Pedro Fernandez closed the door to sent the Monkeys to the 2025 Taiwan Series.

Sources: Official CPBL site