2023 Taiwan Series

The 2023 Taiwan Series featured the Rakuten Monkeys against the Wei-Chuan Dragons. Wei-Chuan won their first Taiwan Series title since they won the 1999 Taiwan Series 24 years ago. The Series MVP was Jo-Hsi Hsu

Teams

Wei-Chuan Dragons

The Dragons were second in the first half of the 2023 CPBL season at 30-27-3 and first in the second half (32-26-2) under manager Chun-Chang Yeh. They had two solid starters - ERA title winner Jake Brigham (10-6, 2.51) and strikeout leader Drew Gagnon (13-7, 3.00). Veteran Bryan Woodall came back from injury in August and he was 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA, and young local ace Jo-Hsi Hsu (1-0, 1.17) would also start a game. The Dragons had the best bullpen in the league, led by closer Kuan-Wei Chen (11H - 14Sv, 2.13) and setup man Kai-Wei Lin (18H - 12Sv, 3.59). Freezer Hua-Wei Lo (9HLD, 1.59), former MLB player Wei-Chung Wang (18 HLD, 3.62) and Yao-Lin Wang (15 HLD, 3.05) were also reliable. Their lineup was their weakness. Homer leader Kungkuan Giljegiljaw (.284/.356/.526, 22HR), hits leader Chi-Hung Liu (.291/.343/.450, 16HR) and Kai-Wei Li (.288/.388/.381) were the team's top batters, but the rest of their lineup's OPS+ was below 100. Hsiao-Cheng Lin was one swipe behind CPBL leader Chen-Wei Chen, and Tian Shin Kuo's center fielding was still elite, but their batting may lower the chance to win the championship.

Rakuten Monkeys

The Monkeys just beat the Uni-President Lions in the first round to advance, and Pedro Fernandez (4-1, 2.09) was dominant in the playoff. Submariner Tzu-Peng Huang (9-10, 3.59) and another local pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng (6-6, 4.55) would start another two games, and Ke-Yi Chen (6-5, 4.21) was brought in this round. Freezer Chih-Hsuan Wang (11 HLD, 1.29), closer Jake Dahlberg (6-4, 3.31) and southpaw set-up man Kuan-Yu Chen (12 HLD, 3.69) would be mainstays of their their bullpen. The Monkeys' lineup was still horrible, though batting title winner Chia-Jung Liang (.338/.400/.507) and RBI leader Chien-Fu Liao (.313/.388/.522 with 22 homers) both hit well in the playoff series. SS Cheng-Fei Lin (.265/.296/.418) was red-hot while his defense was still reliable, and LF Chin Cheng (.290/.368/.338) drove in many clutch runs. Chen-Wei Chen (.254/.318/.352, 22SB) was productive with his speed, and catcher Hung-Chun Yen (.183/.275/.268, 1HR) also played well in the last round.

Games

Game 1

November 4 at Tienmu Baseball Field (10,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
Wei-Chuan Dragons	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	13	1

Monkeys: Pedro Fernandez- Hung-Cheng Lai - Bradin Hagens (H, 1) - Chih-Hsuan Wang (H, 1) - Jake Dahlberg (H, 1) - Hung-Wen Chen (H, 1) - Chun-Hsiang Chu (H, 1) - Wei-Cheng Huang (L, 0-1)

Dragons: Jo-Hsi Hsu - Hua-Wei Lo - Yao-Lin Wang (H, 1) - Bryan Woodall - Kai-Wei Lin (H, 1) - Tzu-Yu Lin (H, 1) - Kuan-Wei Chen (H, 1) - Yu-Cheng Kuo (W, 1-0)

Home Runs Chi-Hung Liu 2 (2)

The opener was one of the most dramatic and incredible games ever in the Taiwan Series. Defying predictions, local ace Jo-Hsi Hsu started for the Dragons and dueled with Rakuten's ace Pedro Fernandez. The Dragons took the lead early as Chi-Hung Liu blasted a two-run shot in the first inning after Namoh Iyang drew a walk. Fernandez faced a command problem in this game, and then C Shao-Hung Chiang collected a double in the second inning. He struck out Cheng-Yu Chang and retired Cheng-Lin Jen to end this inning. However, the Dragons found it easy to reach the base against Fernandez, asKungkuan Giljegiljaw soon hit a single in the next inning, and Tien-Hsin Kuo added another double. Facing the league's hits leader Liu, Fernandez used his slider to strike him out, then forced Kai-Wei Li to fly out to escape the jam. Fernandez struggled again in the 4th inning. He walked Chiang then Cheng-Yu Chang hit a single. However, Fernandez kept finding a way to prevent another run, and he forced Cheng-Lin Jen ground out then struck out Iyang to blank the Dragons again.

On the other hand, Dragons' starter Hsu dominated the Monkeys in the first four innings. He only used 60 pitches with three strikeouts, and a nice play from LF Hsiao-Cheng Lin also helped. The Monkeys finally broke through when red-hot Cheng-Fei Lin hit a single, then Yu-Hsien Chu sent him to second with another single. Hung-Chun Yen then bunted, but Hsu threw to first too high, and everyone was safe. Southpaw Hua-Wei Lo replaced him, but he walked Chen-Wei Chen and the Monkeys finally got their first run. Yao-Lin Wang was then sent to the mound with the bases loaded and nobody out. Rakuten could easily tie it with a fly ball, but Li Lin's line drive was caught by 2B Kai-Wei Li, and Chin Cheng's double play grounder retained the 2-1 score.

Although Fernandez didn't allow any runs after the first inning, he had used too many pitches so Hung-Cheng Lai replaced him in the 6th inning, and he finally didn't allow any player to reach base, unlike his predecessor. The Monkeys tied the game in the next inning when Cheng-Fei Lin his another single. Yu-Hsien Chu's double against Woodall let the Monkeys get their tying run, but Chen-Wei Chen and Li Lin were both out so they couldn't take the lead. The rest of the game was similar with the beginning - the Monkeys were easily retired, and the Dragons had many chances but just couldn't get a run. In the 7th inning, Jen hit a soft grounder and reach first with his excellent speed. Iyang bunted, and Giljegiljaw was intentionally walked. Hagens then struck out Tien-Hsin Kuo and Chi-Hung Liu's line drive was caught by 3B Chia-Jung Liang's nice play. Chih-Hsuan Wang pitched the next inning, but Kai-Wei Li's infield grounder nearly made 2B Lin and SS Lin collide and it became a infield hit. Hsiao-Cheng Lin replaced Li on first base due to a fielder's choice, and Chiang's single was enough to send Lin to third base. Cheng-Yu Chang then hit a fly ball which was not deep. Since LF Chu was a terrible fielder, and Lin's speed was probably the best in the league, he tried to score. However, Chu's throw was perfect this time, and C Hung-Chun Yen tagged Lin out at home plate. Dahlberg struck out the side in the 9th inning, but he gave the Dragons another chance to end this game in the 10th inning. Tien-Hsin Kuo collected a single, then Kai-Wei Li had another hit. CPBL all-time home run leader Chih-Sheng Lin pinch-hit for Hsiao-Cheng Lin, but Dahlberg struck him out with a inside high fastball, then Chiang grounded out and the Monkeys stayed alive again. The Dragons were 0-for-11 when runner was in the scoring position now.

The Monkeys were silent for 3 innings after they scored, and only Chin Cheng reached base, but he was picked-off immediately. They finally roared back in the 11th inning when Chien-Fu Liao drew a walk and Chun-Hsiu Chen collected his first hit of the day. Pinch-runner Yung-Wei Kuo reach the third, but Cheng-Fei Lin couldn't get his third hit of the contest. He hit a foul fly out instead, and the Monkeys never reached third base anymore in this game. Both sides' bullpens did their job well, so the game was tied until the 14th inning. Dragons' closer Kuan-Wei Chen was on his second inning, and Hung-Yu Lin hit a leadoff single. Chun-Hsiu Chen bunted and Tzu-Wei Lin was intentionally walked but Yen hit a soft ground ball. Wei-Cheng Huang was on the mound in the bottom of the inning, and he retired Giljegiljaw and Kuo. Facing Chi-Hung Liu, Huang threw a changeup and Liu sent it to deep left field. He threw away his bat and stood watching the ball over the wall. It's the first walk-off homer in Taiwan Series ever, and the Dragons finally had their first win in the Taiwan Series since they won the 1999 Taiwan Series 24 year ago. The game also set a record for most pitchers used in a Taiwan Series contest, at 16.

Game 2

November 5 at Tienmu Baseball Field (10,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	4	8	0
Wei-Chuan Dragons	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1

Monkeys: Tzu-Peng Huang - Jake Dahlberg (H, 2) - Chih-Hsuan Wang (H, 2) - Bradin Hagens (W, 1-0)

Dragons: Jake Brigham - Kuan-Wei Chen (H, 2) - Kai-Wei Lin (H, 2) - Wei-Chung Wang (L, 0-1) - Yung-Chen Lu

Like Game 1, Game 2 was a pitcher's duel. Rakuten's submariner Tzu-Peng Huang was forced to pitch as long as possible because their bullpen pitchers were all used yesterday, and he perfectly met their need. Wei-Chuan reached scoring position in the first inning with Giljegiljaw and Tien-Hsin Kuo's back-to-back singles, but last game's hero Chi-Hung Liu hit an infield fly, and Huang retired Kai-Wei Li to escape the jam. Liu got revenge when he hit a double in the 4th inning, but that's the only time they reached second base again in Huang's 8 shutout innings. Huang struck out 6 and didn't allow any walks.

However, the Monkeys' lineup also struggled, because they faced CPBL ERA title winner Jake Brigham. Rakuten's best chance was in the 2nd inning when Chun-Hsiu Chen singled after Chien-Fu Liao struck out. He then stole second, and Yu-Hsien Chu hit a line drive sharply. It could have been a RBI single, but 2B Kai-Wei Li's diving catch saved this run. After this inning, Brigham retired the next 15 batters, with only Li Lin reaching the base by SS Cheng-Yu Chang's error. Yu-Hsien Chu broke their silence in the 8th inning and Chin Cheng sent him to second with a bunt. Hung-Yu Lin got a hit-by-pitch, but Chen-Wei Chen then hit a grounder directly to SS Chang. Chen avoided a double play with his elite speed, but pinch-runner Tzu-Wei Lin was sent home by 3B coach Yen-Feng Chen. That was a wrong decision, and 1B Namoh Iyang's fired home rapidly and C Shao-Hung Chiang tagged Lin out. Brigham was excited and he yelled toward the Monkeys' bullpen, and the benches clear.

After the incident, Brigham was replaced by Kuan-Wei Chen, and he plunked Liao after retiring Li Lin and Chia-Jung Liang. Monkeys' manager Hao-Ju Tseng removed his best two sluggers again when he sent Chih-Ping Lin to pinch-run for Liao, and he was out between the bags soon just like he was in the regular season. Jake Dahlberg was still reliable, and he retired the next three batters with 2 strikeouts and the game was headed into extra innings for the second day in a row. Kai-Wei Lin walked Chun-Hsiu Chen in the 10th inning, but he then forced Hung-Yu Lin to hit a infield grounder. Chih-Hsuan Wang pitched in the bottom of the frame, and he walked Hsiao-Yi Kao after he got two outs. Bradin Hagens relieved him and he retired Chiang.

The game's turning point was in the 11th inning when Wei-Chung Wang replaced Lin. The southpaw was Wei-Chuan's ace in 2019, but he was injured and moved to the bullpen this year. Wang struck out Chen-Wei Chen first, but he then walked Li Lin. Facing this year's batting title winner Chia-Jung Liang, Wang threw four straight high fastballs. That's a little reckless, and Liang sent the fourth ball to third base. 3B Liu was unable to catch it, and Lin scored the first run of the game. Wang was then completely destroyed as Chih-Ping Lin, Chun-Hsiu Chen and Cheng-Fei Lin all singled and drove in another run. He struck out Tzu-Wei Lin, but Chin-Cheng then drew a walk when the bases were loaded and Wang was replaced by Yung-Chen Lu. Lu seemed not completely warmed up because he walked Hung-Yu Lin and gave the Monkeys their fourth run. He finally let [Chen-Wei Chen collect his second strikeout in this inning and ended the long top of the 11th. Hagens continued his fine pitching, and he struck out Cheng-Lin Jen and Namoh Iyang, then retired Giljegiljaw to help Rakuten tie the series.

Game 3

November 7 at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium (11,013)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Wei-Chuan Dragons	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	13	1
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	3	X	7	9	0

Monkeys: Jen-Ho Tseng - Chun-Hsiang Chu (H, 2) - Chih-Hsuan Wang - Bradin Hagens (W, 2-0) - Jake Dahlberg (S, 1)

Dragons: Drew Gagnon - Hua-Wei Lo - Yu-Cheng Kuo - Yao-Lin Wang (H,2) - Kai-Wei Lin (L, 0-1) - Kuan-Wei Chen

Home Runs Giljegiljaw Kungkuan (1)

Jen-Ho Tseng's ERA against the Dragons was a terrible 5.48, but the Monkeys had no other chance but let him start in Game 3 because they had moved Jake Dahlberg to the bullpen. Giljegiljaw Kungkuan greeted him with a solo shot in the first inning, then Tien-Hsin Kuo and Chi-Hung Liu both singled. Tseng retired Shao-Hung Chiang to end this inning, but he then gave up a leadoff single to Hsiao-Cheng Lin in the second inning. Hsiao-Yi Kao's grounder sent Lin to second, and Cheng-Yu Chang singled to drove in another run. Tseng plunked Kungkuan in the 3rd inning, then he struck out Tien-Hsin Kuo and Liu. Chiang collected another hit-by-pitch, but Tseng then struck out Hsiao-Cheng Lin to escape the jam.

CPBL strikeouts leader Gagnon was Wei-Chuan's starter in this game, and he remained perfect in the first two innings. Hung-Chun Yen drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the third inning, then Chen-Wei Chen singled. Former MVP Li Lin bunted, and C Chiang chose to throw to third, but Yen was safe. This decision was soon proved wrong, because Chun-Hsiu Chen's double took the lead for the Monkeys after Yen scored with a wild pitch. Gagnon bounced back soon, as he struck out the next two batter and retired Cheng-Fei Lin. In the 4th inning, Yu-Hsien Chu, whose batting average was .750 so far in this Series, hit a leadoff double and advanced to third with Chin Cheng's sacrifice bunt. Gagnon had another crisis, but he forced Yen to fly out, then retired Chen-Wei Chen to hold it a tie game.

Gagnon still faced command problem in the 5th inning, and he allowed a leadoff double again, to Li Lin. When Chun-Hsiu Chen was batting, Gagnon's wild pitch helped Lin advance to third base, then he walked Chen. Rakuten extended the lead with Chia-Jung Liang's sacrifice fly, then Gagnon struck out the next two batters to end this inning. Tseng completed his work perfectly, and Chun-Hsiang Chu replaced him and collected a shutout inning. Gagnon was also replaced by Hua-Wei Lo, but Cheng hit a single, then Chiang threw to first too high on Yen's bunt so everybody were safe. Lo retired left-handed hitter Chen-Wei Chen, and Yu-Cheng Kuo struck out Li Lin to remain it a two-run game.

Not only low on starters, Rakuten also lacked of relievers, so Chih-Hsuan Wang needed to pitch for the third straight game. He seemed too tired as Namoh Iyang, Chang and Kai-Wei Li all singled. Bradin Hagens replaced him, but he couldn't stop the Dragons as Kungkuan singled then Kuo tied it with another single. Facing another slugger in Liu, Hagens threw four straight low fastballs. It could be a walk if Liu didn't swing at them all and missed three of them. Chiang then grounded into a double play to help Hagens escape the jam. Kai-Wei Lin replaced Kuo in the 8th inning, and he walked Chu first. Cheng bunted to send Chu to scoring position, and Yen's clutch single took the lead for Rakuten again. Chen-Wei Chen drew another walk, and Li Lin hit another RBI single which forced Kuan-Wei Chen replace Lin. Chun-Hsiu Chen then completed a squeeze bunt and the Monkeys now had a 3-run lead. Closer Jake Dahlberg - who also pitched three consecutive games - stood on the mound trying to close the door. However, Chang drew a walk then Kungkuan collected his third single of the game. On this clutch moment, Dahlberg retired Kuo, and Liu hit a fly ball to right field. Cheng caught it to end the game, and the Monkeys took a 2-1 lead in this series.

Game 4

November 8 at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium (12,029)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Wei-Chuan Dragons	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	4	11	1
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	3

Monkeys: Ke-Yi Chen - Hung-Wen Chen (L, 0-1) - Wei-Cheng Huang - Hung-Cheng Lai - Chun-Hsiang Chu

Dragons: Bryan Woodall (W, 1-0) - Yao-Lin Wang (H,3) - Kuan-Wei Chen (S, 1)

As mentioned above, the Monkeys didn't had enough starters, so rookie Ke-Yi Chen needed to start in clutch Game 4. Tien-Hsin Kuo greeted him with a double in the first inning, and Chen struck out Chi-Hung Liu with a low slider to end this inning. However, the Monkeys' fielding faced some troubles in the second inning. Chia-Jung Liang threw to first a little too high, but Chun-Hsiu Chen still jumped and caught the ball. After speedy Hsiao-Cheng Lin walked, he soon stole second and advanced to third with Hung-Chun Yen's throwing error. Cheng-Yu Chang then hit a grounder, but 2B Li Lin made a throwing error again, and Lin scored. Chang was caught stealing then, and Chen retired Cheng-Lin Jen.

Wei-Chuan's starter was veteran Bryan Woodall, and his teammates also struggled in the bottom of this inning. Chien-Fu Liao his a leadoff single, and 3B Liu passed the ball to center field when trying to make a double play, so Liao advanced to third. Yu-Hsien Chu was walked to load the bases, but Chin Cheng then hit an infield fly. Yen was forced to hit another fly ball, and this one was deeper. Liao tried to score, but Jen's perfect throw stopped him, and Woodall struck out Chen-Wei Chen to escape the jam. Ke-Yi Chen load the bases also in the third inning. Kuo singled, Liu hit an infield single and Ke-Yi Chen plunked Chih-Sheng Lin. However, as with the Monkeys in the last inning, the Dragons also didn't score because Chun Hsiu Chen caught Shiao-Cheng Lin's line drive.

Woodall blanked the Monkeys for two innings, then they roared back in the fifth inning. Li Lin and Chun-Hsiu Chen both singled, and Liang's grounder tied the game. Liao was intentionally walked, and Cheng-Fei Lin hit another grounder to end this inning. Ke-Yi Chen was replaced by Hung-Wen Chen and he pitched a shutout inning. Hsiao-Cheng Lin collected a leadoff double in the 6th inning with his speed, and Chang bunted. Just as Rakuten did yesterday, Yen tried to nab Lin in third, but Liang couldn't tag him. Shao-Hung Chiang then hit a single to take the lead for the Dragons again. Jen's grounder gave the Dragons another run, and the Dragons ordered a hit-and-run. However, Li hit an infield fly and it became a double play.

The Monkeys couldn't break through against Woodall, and Liang finally got a single off Yao-Lin Wang in the 8th inning. Liao then hit a line drive which could become a hit, but Namoh Iyang's diving catch stopped it, and Liang came back to the first too late. Kai-Wei Li, Giljegiljaw Kungkuan and Kuo all singled against Chun-Hsiang Chu in the 9th inning to extend the lead to 3 runs, but Kungkuan was tagged out at third. Chu then forced Liu to fly out and struck out Namoh Iyang. Nevertheless, the closer of Dragons Kuan-Wei Chen replaced Wang to close the door, and he struck out Chu first. Chen remained perfect as he retired Cheng and PH Chih-Ping Lin also struck out as the Dragons tied the series. Wang tied the Taiwan Series record by collecting his third hold.

Game 5

November 10 at Tienmu Baseball Field (10,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	1	2	3	1	0	3	1	0	11	15	1
Wei-Chuan Dragons	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0

Monkeys: Pedro Fernandez (W, 1-0)- Kuan-Yu Chen

Dragons: Jake Brigham (L, 0-1) - Hua-Wei Lo - Ching-Yu Chang - Wei-Chung Wang - Yung-Chen Lu - Tzu-Yu Lin

Home Runs Yu-Hsien Chu 2 (2), Chien-Fu Liao (1)

The Monkeys' lineup hadn't blasted any home run yet, but they owned CPBL ERA title winner Jake Brigham in this game. Yu-Hsien Chu blasted a solo shot in the second inning, then Hung-Chun Yen collected a leadoff single in the next inning. Chen-Wei Chen failed to bunt, but Li Lin's single still sent Chen to second. Brigham then plunked Chun-Hsiu Chen, and batting title winner Chia-Jung Liang's clutch double gave the Monkeys a 3-run lead. Chien-Fu Liao then hit a deep flyball, RF Cheng-Lin Jen caught it and Chen was out at second because he forgot it wasn't two outs.

Wei-Chuan was dominated by Rakuten's starter Pedro Fernandez, who had three straight strikeouts in the first inning. Chi-Hung Liu hit a leadoff double in the second inning, but Fernandez still retired Shao-Hung Chiang, struck out Hsiao-Cheng Lin then forced Cheng-Yu Chang to fly out. He threw another two Ks in the 3rd inning, then retired Kungkuan Giljegiljaw to end this inning. The Monkeys kept their rhythm as Cheng-Fei Lin collected a double in the 4th inning, then Chin Cheng helped him advance to third with a single. Hung-Chun Yen's successfully squeeze bunt drove in their fourth run, and Chen-Wei Chen's single plated another. Hua-Wei Lo replaced Brigham and Li Lin then extended their lead to six runs. Lo forced Liao to hit a line drive and 3B Liu caught it.

Ching-Yu Chang had his Taiwan Series debut in the 6th inning, and Liao greeted him with a solo home run. The Dragons had a chance in the bottom of the sixth inning as Kai-Wei Lee and Giljegiljaw both singled. However, Fernandez retired Tien-Hsin Kuo and Liu, then struck out Shih-Hao Liu to keep them scoreless. Wei-Chung Wang pitched for the Dragons in the 7th inning, and Liao hit a single against him. Red-hot Yu-Hsien Chu crushed the second homer of the onight, then Cheng-Fei Lin's double knocked out Wang. Yung-Chen Lu relieved him, but he threw two straight wild pitches and Lin scored the 10th run for the Monkeys.

Fernandez faced another crisis in the 7th inning. Chang drew a walk first, then Masegesege Abalrini reached first thanks to Chun-Hsiu Chen's error. Fernandez still collected a clutch strikeout against Hsiao-Yi Kao, and Kai-Wei Lee's infield fly couldn't bring home any runs. Tzu-Yu Lin was the 6th pitcher the Dragons used in this game, but he gave up a run by Chih-Ping Lin and Liang's back-to-back hits. Fernandez tied the Taiwan Series record with his 13th strikeout in the 8th inning, and Kuan-Yu Chen closed the door for the Monkeys. They were now one win from winning the title but would not get it.

Game 6

November 11 at Tienmu Baseball Field (10,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Wei-Chuan Dragons	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	9	0

Monkeys: Tzu-Peng Huang (L, 0-1) - Hung-Cheng Lai - Bradin Hagens

Dragons: Jo-Hsi Hsu (W, 1-0) - Kai-Wei Lin (H, 3) - Kuan-Wei Chen (S, 2)

Facing a win-or-go-home situation, Wei-Chuan's local ace Jo-Hsi Hsu had the best performance ever in his career. He was the first local pitcher to bring a perfect game into the 5th inning in a Taiwan Series, and ended up pitching 7 innings for the first time in his entire professional career. He only allowed an infield hit to Yu-Hsien Chu and struck out 7 batters. Rakuten's Tzu-Peng Huang also done his work well as he recorded 5 2/3 innings with 2 runs allowed. The Dragons scored early as Kai-Wei Lee and Giljegiljaw Kungkuan both singled, Tien-Hsin Kuo bunted and Chi-Hung Liu's sacrifice bunt gave the Dragons the lead. Wei-Chaun's other run was in the 6th inning. Liu singled and pinch-hitter Chih-Sheng Lin singled to help Liu advance to third, then Cheng-Yu Chang's double sent Liu home. Hung-Cheng Lai relieved Huang and retired Hsiao-Cheng Lin to escape the jam. Kai-Wei Lin and Kuan-Wei Chen both pitched a shutout inning to end the game, and the Dragons tied the series.

Game 7

November 12 at Tienmu Baseball Field (10,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rakuten Monkeys	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
Wei-Chuan Dragons	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	X	6	8	2

Monkeys: Jake Dahlberg (L, 0-1) - Jen-Ho Tseng - Chih-Hsuan Wang - Bradin Hagens

Dragons: Drew Gagnon (W, 1-0) - Bryan Woodall (H, 1) - Jake Brigham (S, 1)

It was the first time that a stadium held 5 games in a Taiwan Series, and both teams used a foreign pitcher to pitch this clutch game. However, the championship was determined in the first inning. The Monkeys were the team who scored first. Li Lin hit a leadoff single against Drew Gagnon, and Chien-Fu Liao's single with two outs drove him in. However, Rakuten's Jake Dahlberg face a severely control problem, and the Dragons destroyed him in the bottom of this inning. Leadoff hitter Kai-Wei Lee also singled and Dahlberg walked Giljegiljaw Kungkuan but Tien-Hsin Kuo grounded into a double play. After this at-bat, he suddenly couldn't throw any strikes and walked Chi-Hung Liu and Chih-Sheng Lin. Cheng-Yu Chang then hit a grounder to first base. 1B Chun-Hsiu Chen's sliding stop would have stopped a run from scoring had he gotten the out at first, but he couldn't throw to first in time and the Dragons took the lead. Dahlberg then walked a batter while the bases were loaded two times, Hsiao-Cheng Lin and Shao-Hung Chiang both collecting a RBI. Jen-Ho Tseng relieved Dahlberg, but Hsiao-Yi Kao's RBI single extended their lead to 4 runs. Tseng finally struck out Lee to ended this long inning.

Rakuten didn't gave up when they answered back soon just in the next inning. Cheng-Fei Lin singled first, and SS Cheng-Yu Chang made a throwing error while dealing with Chin Cheng's grounder. Hung-Chun Yen bunted, and Chen-Wei Chen's double drove in two runs. Li Lin then hit a line drive directly to second baseman Lee, and he caught it then tagged Chen out to end this inning.

Gagnon didn't allow any chances in the next two innings, and Yen finally reached first with another throwing error by Chang. Chen-Wei Chen then hit an infield single with his speed. Former MVP Li Lin tried to bunt, but he failed two times and Gagnon forced him to swing and miss on an inside fastball. Catcher Chiang's calling was very bold, as he called a curve to Chun-Hsiu Chen with a full count since Gagnon was not good at controlling it. Gagnon indeed threw that curve too low, but Chen couldn't touch it and Gagnon got the clutch out. He then struck out Yen to hold their 2-run lead.

Gagnon had done his work with a quality start, and Bryan Woodall relieved him. This was his third appearance of this series, and he blanked the Monkeys for two innings. Tseng also had an elite pitching performance as the Dragons were silent for six inning, but Chang finally broke through against Tseng in the 8th inning with a single. Chih-Hsuan Wang replaced him, but he couldn't stop Hsiao-Cheng Lin, who hit another single and Chang advanced to third. Bradin Hagens soon replaced Wang, and Chiang's RBI single gave Wei-Chuan the insurance run. Game 5 starter Jake Brigham was sent to the mound to close the series, and he got back-to-back strikeouts to Liao and Chu. Cheng Fei Lin singled, and pinch-hitter Chih-Ping Lin hit a grounder. It could have ended this game, but 3B Liu was unable to catch it and Lin reached base. Brigham forced Hung-Yu Lin to pop out, and the Dragons won the Taiwan Series championship.

Sources: Official CPBL site