2024 Taiwan Series

The 2024 Taiwan Series featured the Uni-President Lions against the CTBC Brothers.

Teams

CTBC Brothers

The Brothers faired okay in the first half of the 2024 CPBL season as they were 32-28-0, and they picked it up significantly in the second half (38-22-0) to get the pennant under manager Keiichi Hirano. They had an average but solid lineup. Tzu-Hao Chen (.276/.355/.515, 17 HR) and Sung-En Tseng (.304/.343/.441, 10 HR) were their main sluggers, and Chi-Hung Hsu (.301/.368/.446) was the other hitter who was above average. Their rotation relied on foreign pitchers - former MVP Jose De Paula (10-5, 3.05), Daniel Mengden (10-3, 2.86) and Kirk McCarty (5-3, 2.76) would get most of the starts. Their bullpen was the weakness; Chun-Wei Wu (6-6, 2.64, 29 Sv) was a save shy from robbing the saves leader title from Bo-Hao Chen, but he was the only reliable pitcher. Yen-Ching Lu (24 HLD, 4.17) and Kai-Cheng Wang (3.15, 14 HLD) both struggled in the second half.

Uni-President Lions

The Lions had the best rotation of the league, and it helped them eliminate the Rakuten Monkeys in the playoffs. Rui-Yang Gu Lin (10-2, 1.66) and Mario Sanchez (14-5 2.49) were the best one-two punch of the league, and Logan Ondrusek (6-6, 2.77) was also a solid third starter. Like their opponent, the Lions bullpen was not as good as their rotation. Closer Hao-Chun Chiu struggled in the CPBL Playoff Series, and Chih-Wei Hu was moved to the bullpen as a long reliever. Fortunately, as they had a local ace, the Lions were the only team that could use a foreign reliever. Hector Perez (13 HLD, 8 Sv, 1.50 ERA) and Masaki Takashio (4 HLD, 4.98 ERA) needed to consume most of the innings before closer Yun-Wen Chen (4.59, 10 Sv). They had two elite hit machines as Chih-Cheng Chiu (.326/.418/.427) and Chieh-Hsien Chen (.334/.421/.417) were both in the top 3 of the batting title leaderboard, and An-Ko Lin (.257/.352/.461, 20 HR) had the most homers among batters from both teams in the series.

Games

Game 1

October 19 at Taipei Dome (40,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Uni-President Lions	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	8	3
CTBC Brothers	0	0	0	1	1	7	0	1	X	10	12	1

Lions: Rui-Yang Gu Lin - Masaki Takashio (H, 1) - Tzu-Wei Lin (H, 1) - Ching-Ming Wang (L, 0-1) - Hao-Chun Chiu - Shao-En Lin - Chih-Wei Hu

Brothers: Jose De Paula (W, 1-0) - En-Sih Huang - Yen-Ching Lu - Chun-Wei Wu

Home Runs Sung-En Tseng (1)

The Lions broke through versus Jose De Paula in the first inning. Chia-Wei Lin hit a leadoff single, Chih-Cheng Chiu added an infield single and Chieh-Hsien Chen bunted. De Paula made an error on his throw to first, and every runner were safe. He then plunked Yung-Chi Chen, and Chin-Lung Hu extended Uni-President's lead to three runs with a single. Lions ace Rui-Yang Gu Lin completed three shutout innings, but he was pulled due to back issues in the 4th inning. Masaki Takashio succeeded him, and the Elephants scored thanks to singles by Wei-Chen Wang, Kun-Yu Chiang and Tung-Hua Yueh. Chieh-Kai Pan then committed an error while trying to catch Yu-Chieh Kao's grounder, and Takashio struck out Cheng-Jui Sung to escape the jam.

In the 5th inning, Cheng-Hua Yueh started with a bunt hit, and Tzu-Wei Lin walked Tzu-Hao Chen. Wang then drove in a run with a flyball, and Ching-Ming Wang retired the next batter to end the inning. However, he struggled in the 6th inning. Chiang hit a single, and Wang walked Tung-Hua Yueh. Catcher Chung-Yu Chen tried to throw out Chiang, but his throw went into the outfield, and Chiang advanced to third. Kao then tied the game with a double, and Hao-Chun Chiu relieved Wang. Nevertheless, Chiu extended his terrible pitching in the playoff series, and he walked the next two batters. Shao-En Lin then succeeded him, and Tzu-Hao Chen added an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Wei-Chen Wang added two runs, and Chih-Wei Hu - the fourth pitcher the Lions used - replaced Lin. Hu still couldn't stop the Elephants. He allowed two hits and a walk, and the Elephants scored seven that inning.

Although he faced some trouble in the beginning of the game, De Paula recovered, and he only allowed those three runs in 7 innings pitched. The Lions hit three consecutive hits in the 8th inning to get a run, but Sung-En Tseng soon answered back and crushed a solo home run against Hu. It was the first homer in a Taiwan Series in the Taipei Dome, and Tseng was also coincidentally the batter who hit the first homer in the regular season in that stadium. Chun-Wei Wu allowed two runners in the 9th inning, but he still closed the door and the Elephants took the opener.

Game 2

October 20 at Taipei Dome (37,596)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Uni-President Lions	0	4	0	1	1	0	1	3	0	10	16	0
CTBC Brothers	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	10	1

Lions: Mario Sanchez (W, 1-0) - Hector Perez (H, 1) - Yun-Wen Chen

Brothers: Daniel Mengden (L, 0-1) - Chi-Che Tsai - C.C. Lee - Hu Chen - Yi-Kai Wang - Po-Chun Chen

Home Runs Cheng-Hua Yueh (1)

Former Taiwan Series MVP Cheng-Hua Yueh greeted Lions starter Mario Sanchez with a solo shot in the first inning, but the Lions broke through against Daniel Mengden in the next inning. He allowed six hits, all singles, and the Lions scored four. The Elephants roared back soon in the bottom of the inning, and they hit three consecutive singles. Sanchez forced Tung-Hua Yueh to ground into a double play, but Chin-Wei Lin Wu still drove in another run with a single. The Lions extended their run with three singles in the 4th inning, and Chieh-Hsien Chen hit a leadoff single in the 5th inning. He advanced to second due to Lin Wu's passed ball, and Chih-Chieh Su added an insurance run with a grounder.

Sanchez didn't allow any runs in the rest of his day until the 6th inning, and Hector Perez relieved him after he gave up two hits. Perez walked Tung-Hua Yueh to load the bases, but Yu-Chieh Kao was retired and the inning was over. Chen then hit a triple, and the Lions made it 4-run game with Chieh-Kai Pan's single. Hu Chen and Yi-Kai Wang gave up another three runs in the 8th inning, and the Lions tied the series.

Game 3

October 22 at Taipei Dome (25,029)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CTBC Brothers	0	0	3	0	0	0	4	3	0	10	12	0
Uni-President Lions	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0

Brothers: Kirk McCarty (W, 1-0) - Yen-Ching Lu - C.C. Lee - Jung-Hao Hsieh

Lions: Logan Ondrusek (L, 0-1) - Masaki Takashio - Chun-Yen Huang - Chun-Sheng Hsin - Cheng-Yu Wu - Hao-Chun Chiu - Tzu-Wei Lin - Ching-Ming Wang

Home Runs Sung-En Tseng (2)

It looks like a pitcher's contest in the first six innings, as both sides' starters pitched well. Veteran Logan Ondrusek gave up a single to Kun-Yu Chiang in the 3rd inning, then he walked Tung-Hua Yueh. Yu-Chieh Kao then bunted for a single, and CTBC scored first as Cheng-Jui Sung drew a walk. Cheng-Hua Yueh then added a single, and Chun-Hsiu Chen extended the Brothers' lead to three runs with a sacrifice fly. Ondrusek still completed 5 innings with 7 strikeouts, and Masaki Takashio also pitched a shutout inning. However, the Lions still trailed as Kirk McCarty pitched 5 shutout innings, before they finally had a chance to tie the game in the 6th inning. After McCarty retired Tzu-Chieh Lin, he gave up back-to-back singles to Chia-Wei Lin and Chih-Cheng Chiu, then he walked Chieh-Hsien Chen to load the bases. Setup man Yen-Ching Lu succeeded McCarty, and he forced Yung-Chi Chen to ground into a double play and escape the jam.

Things totally changed after that as the Lions started to use their bullpen, and the Brothers destroyed those relievers. Cheng-Hua Yueh hit a double first, then Tzu-Hao Chen sent him back with a single. Wei-Chen Wang then walked, and Sung-En Tseng crushed his second home run of the series. Lions closer Hao-Chun Chiu pitched in the 8th inning, but he struggled again and he gave up two doubles and two singles. The Brothers added three insurance runs, and they easily shut out the Lions.

Game 4

October 23 at Tainan Baseball Field (10,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CTBC Brothers	2	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	6	11	2
Uni-President Lions	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	13	0

Brothers: Kai-Wen Cheng (W, 1-0) - Chun-Wei Wu - C.C. Lee - Yen-Ching Lu

Lions: Chun-Lin Kuo - Shao-En Lin (L, 0-1) - Hector Perez - Yun-Wen Chen

Home Runs Tzu-Hao Chen (1)

Two local pitchers dueled with each other in Game 4, and the Elephants scored first. Chun-Hsiu Chen hit a double, then Chun-Lin Kuo surrendered three straight singles and two runners scored. The Lions then broke through against Kai-Wen Cheng in the bottom of the first inning. Chia-Wei Lin hit a leadoff single, and Chieh-Hsien Chen sent him home with a double. Cheng then gave up three singles to Lins - An-Ko Lin, Yi-Chuan Lin and Dai-An Lin - so the Lions took back the lead. However, their bullpen screwed it up again. Shao-En Lin succeeded Kuo in the 5th inning, and Tzu-Hao Lin crushed a solo home run to get the lead. He then walked Yu-Chieh Kao in the 6th inning, and foreign reliever Hector Perez replaced him. Perez had a 1.50 ERA in the regular season, but he surrendered a double to Cheng-Jui Sung, then Cheng-Hua Yueh added two insurance runs with a timely single. Wei-Chen Wang committed an error in the bottom, and Tzu-Chieh Lin drove in a run with a single. C.C. Lee and Yen-Ching Lu then blanked the Lions in the next three innings, and the Brothers took a 3-1 lead in the series.

Game 5

October 25 at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium (20,000)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Uni-President Lions	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	2
CTBC Brothers	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	X	4	12	1

Brothers: Jose De Paula (W, 2-0) - Chun-Wei Wu

Lions: Mario Sanchez (L, 1-1) - Hector Perez - Yun-Wen Chen

The aces of the two teams started in Game 5, and Jose De Paula dominated the Lions. Uni-President was the team that scored first though, as rookie Chia-Wei Lin hit a leadoff double, then Chieh-Hsien Chen added a single. However, De Paula didn't allow a run after the first inning, and Mario Sanchez faced some trouble in the bottom of that inning. He retired the first batters, but he then gave up a double to Chun-Hsiu Chen and plunked Tzu-Hao Chen. Wei-Chen Wang then tied the game with a single, and Sung-En Tseng drove in the winning run with a single. Sanchez completed four shutout innings, then Tseng hit a double in the 6th inning. Kun-Yu Chiang then hit a single, and Tseng tried to score even though the third base coach told him to stop. Fortunately, Chih-Cheng Chiu made an error while throwing home, and the Brothers added an insurance run. Chiu made an error again when catching Wei-Chen Wang's fly ball in the 8th inning, and Tseng damaged the Lions again. He hit a RBI single, and the Brothers extended their lead to three runs. Chun-Wei Wu closed the door, and the Brothers won their third championship in past four years. Tseng won the MVP, and De Paula was named the outstanding player.

Sources: Official CPBL site