2025 Taiwan Series

The 2025 Taiwan Series featured the Rakuten Monkeys against the CTBC Brothers.

Teams

CTBC Brothers

The Brothers faired okay in the first half of the 2025 CPBL season as they were 34-26-0, and they picked it up significantly in the second half (36-24-0) to get the pennant under manager Keiichi Hirano. They had one of the most dominant pitchers on Nivaldo Rodríguez (11-7, 1.84 ERA), and Brandon Leibrandt (7-3, 1.94) was another solid starter. Their lineup was led by Chi-Hung Hsu (.292/.390/.525, 19 HR), but the other players lacked power. CTBC relied on defense to win the pennant, as they had 5-time Gold Glove winners SS Kun-Yu Chiang and 3B Wei-Chen Wang.

Rakuten Monkeys

The Monkeys had the best one-two pitching punch of the league, Pedro Fernandez (15-2, 2.01 ERA) and Marcelo Martínez (13-8, 2.51 ERA); the duo lead them in eliminating the Uni-President Lions in the 2025 CPBL Playoff Series. Beau Sulser also pitched well in the playoffs, but he suffered from injuries and Caleb Baragar replaced him. Cheng-Yang Chu (51 G, 13 Sv, 1.25 ERA) and Kuan-Yu Chen (55 G, 23 HLD, 1.69 ERA) were the only reliable pitchers in their bullpen, so they needed starters to pitch as long as possible. The Monkeys also focused on speed and defense, and steals leader Chen-Wei Chen (.307/.366/.411, 28 SB) carried their offense.

Games

Game 1

October 18 at Taipei Dome (40,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	0
CTBC Brothers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

Monkeys: Marcelo Martínez (W, 1-0) - Kuan-Yu Chen (H, 1) - Cheng-Yang Chu (S, 1)

Brothers: Nivaldo Rodríguez (L, 0-1) - Chung-Cheng Chiang - Kai-Cheng Wang - Yen-Ching Lu - C.C. Lee

The ace of the Brothers, Nivaldo Rodríguez, had some problems in the first inning. He gave up a single to Li Lin, Chih-Ping Lin drew a walk and Chia-Jung Liang knocked in the first run. The Monkeys came through against Rodríguez again in the 3rd inning. Tzu-Wei Lin hit a leadoff single, Chih-Ping Lin walked then Liang and Min-Hsun Chang each hit a RBI single. Rodríguez then gave up 2 hits in the 4th inning, and he only completed 5 innings. The bullpen of the Brothers didn't allow any runs, but a 3-run lead was enough for Marcelo Martínez. He completed 7 strong innings with only 3 hits allowed, and Rakuten's bullpen duo Kuan-Yu Chen and Cheng-Yang Chu also didn't give the Brothers any chances. Rakuten got the first win with a shutout.

Game 2

October 19 at Taipei Dome (40,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	12	0
CTBC Brothers	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	0

Monkeys: Pedro Fernandez (W, 1-0) - Kuan-Yu Chen (H, 2) - Cheng-Yang Chu (S, 2)

Brothers: Brandon Leibrandt (L, 0-1) - Chun-Wei Wu - Chung-Cheng Chiang - Chi-Che Tsai - C.C. Lee

Home Runs Li Lin (1)

Facing Brandon Leibrandt, Li Lin hit a leadoff dinger in the first inning, and it was déjà vu of last game. The other Rakuten ace, Pedro Fernandez, blanked the Brothers for 6 innings, and he only allowed a run. On the other hand, Leibrandt allowed plenty of Monkeys batters to reach the bases, but he prevented surrendering any additional runs. In the 7th inning, Chin Cheng hit a single, advancing to second due to a hit-by-pitch to Cheng-Hua Lin and scoring thanks to Chen-Wei Chen's single. The Brothers roared back soon. Chi-Hung Hsu collected a double, Tzu-Hsien Chan helped him reach third, and CTBC scored because of Fernandez's wild pitch. Just like last game, the setup man for Rakuten, Kuan-Yu Chen, pitched the 8th inning, but he struggled today as he allowed back-to-back singles to Tung-Hua Yueh and Cheng-Jui Sung. Chih-Kang Lin then reached base after Chih-Ping Lin committed an error, and the Brothers had another good chance to tie the game. However, Yueh was forced out on Wei-Sheng Huang's grounder, then PH Sung-En Tseng grounded into a double play. Closer Cheng-Yang Chu gave them another chance as Wei-Chen Wang hit a leadoff double and Hsu was plunked, but Tzu-Hsien Chan grounded into another double play, and Chu closed the door successfully.

Game 3

October 21 at Taipei Dome (37,088)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CTBC Brothers	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	7	0
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0

Brothers: Jesús Vargas (W, 1-0) - Chun-Wei Wu (H, 1) - C.C. Lee (S, 1)

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

Home Run Tzu-Hsien Chan (1)

The Brothers didn't record a RBI for two games, and they finally broke through today against Rakuten's local ace Tzu-Peng Huang in the 2nd inning, with a solo shot by Tzu-Hsien Chan. In the third inning, Wei-Chen Wang hit a single, and Cheng-Shun Wang hit a double to help the speedy Wang score. Two runs were enough for Jesús Vargas, who completed 6 2/3 shutout innings with only 68 pitches. After Chia-Jung Liang hit a double in the 7th inning, Vargas was relieved by Chun-Wei Wu and Wu retired De-Long Yu to end the inning. C.C. Lee closed the door successfully, and the Brothers won their first game of the series.

Game 4

October 26 at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium (18,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CTBC Brothers	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	X	3	7	1

Brothers: Nivaldo Rodríguez (L, 0-2) - Chun-Wei Wu - Chi-Che Tsai

Monkeys: Pedro Fernandez - Hsin-Yen Chuang (H, 1) - Kuan-Yu Chen (W, 1-0) - Cheng-Yang Chu (S, 3)

Home Run Chi-Hung Hsu (1), Chen-Wei Chen (1)

Due to Typhoon Fengshen, this game was postponed several times. Thus, both teams could use their aces - Pedro Fernandez and Nivaldo Rodríguez. Like the first three games, this game was a pitcher's duel. Rakuten's Fernandez was not as dominant as in his first game, but he still fanned 10 in 6 innings. The Brother only scored due to Chi-Hung Hsu's solo shot though they had many chances. In the 6th inning, Fernandez's error let Cheng-Shun Wang reach base, then Hsu added a single. CTBC only need a flyball to take the lead, but Fernandez struck out the next three batters, and held the game to a tie.

On the other hand, CTBC's ace Rodríguez was also containing Rakuten's lineup. The Monkeys only scored once in the third inning when Chia-Hsiang Sung and Chin Cheng hit back-to-back singles, then De-Long Yu bunted. However, catcher Yu-Chieh Kao threw the ball to the outfield, and Sung scored. Rodriguez then completed the next four innings, but the Brothers decided not to change pitchers in the 8th inning. Rodriguez then walked Chin Cheng, and Chun-Wei Wu replaced him. Wu retired the first two batters he faced, but Chen-Wei Chen then crushed a game-winning 2-run shot. Rakuten's bullpen pitchers didn't allow a single run yet this Series, and they successfully closed the door. Cheng-Yang Chu got his third save of the series, and the Monkeys were one win away from title.

Game 5

October 27 at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium (18,307)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	2	9	15	3
CTBC Brothers	3	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	7	12	0

Monkeys: Marcelo Martínez - Yin-Hao Lai - Chih-Hsuan Wang - Chun-Chang Su - Kuan-Yu Chen (H, 3) - Hsin-Yen Chuang (W, 1-0) - Cheng-Yang Chu (S, 4)

Brothers: Brandon Leibrandt - Jesús Vargas (H, 1) - Kai-Cheng Wang - Chi-Che Tsai - Yen-Ching Lu - C.C. Lee (H, 1) - Hao-Chun Cheng (L, 0-1)

Home Run Hung-Yu Lin (1) Chia-Jung Liang (1)

The Monkeys broke through against CTBC's Brandon Leibrandt in the first inning thanks to Li Lin and Hung-Yu Lin's singles, then the Brothers answered back soon. Cheng-Jui Sung hit a leadoff single, and CF Chin Cheng couldn't catch Kun-Yu Chiang's fly ball. That error proved fatal because Chun-Hsiu Chen and Chi-Hung Hsu then added two singles, and Tzu-Hsien Chan drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. The Monkeys didn't give up, and Leibrandt didn't have a fine game. He gave up a hit to Chia-Jung Liang, walked Min-Hsun Chang then De-Long Yu added a RBI single. Leibrandt then forced Li Lin to hit a grounder, but Wei-Sheng Huang couldn't complete the double play, and the Monkeys tied the game.

The Monkeys committed many errors in this game, and they paid the price in the 4th inning. Huang hit a leadoff single, then Yu-Chieh Kao hit a grounder to third. However, Liang made an error while throwing to first, and Huang scored the go-ahead run. Kao reached third, and Martínez struck out Sung to prevent any more runs. In the 6th inning, Tzu-Hsien Chan hit a leadoff single, and Sung-En Tseng added a double. The Monkeys again lost another run due to errors; this time it was SS Yu's throwing error after cutting off the relay throw. Yin-Hao Lai replaced Martinez, but he walked Huang then Sung extended their lead to three runs with a double.

The #3 starter of the Brothers, Jesús Vargas, had some troubles in the 7th inning. He allowed three singles and gave up a run, but he still struck out Chih-Ping Lin to escape the jam. Thus, CTBC decided to use Kai-Cheng Wang to replace him, but the decision was disastrous. Liang crushed a solo shot to start the inning, then Wang walked Sung. Freezer Chi-Che Tsai then relieved Wang, but he still couldn't stop Rakuten's offense. Cheng hit a single, then Yu bunted. Tsai decided to throw to third, but every runner was safe. The bases were loaded and nobody out, and he successfully forced Li Lin to pop out. However, Chen-Wei Chen then drew a walk, and Tzu-Wei Lin tied the game with a grounder.

Rakuten's strong bullpen extended their solid performance, and the Brothers were silenced after the 6th inning. CTBC's veteran C.C. Lee also pitched 2 shutout innings, and projected G5 starter Hao-Chun Cheng was on the mound in the 11th inning. However, Cheng walked Chen, and Hung-Yu Lin blasted a championship-deciding 2-run home run. Cheng-Yang Chu got his record-setting 4th save of the series, and the Rakuten Monkeys got their first title. Fernandez won the MVP, and Cheng was named the outstanding player.

Sources: Official CPBL site