Taoyuan: The Rakuten Monkeys are now one victory away from clinching their eighth overall Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) title. This follows their triumph over the visiting CTBC Brothers in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Taiwan Series in Taoyuan on Sunday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the intense game was tied at one apiece until Monkeys’ left-fielder Chen Chen-wei broke the deadlock in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending Brothers’ reliever Wu Chun-wei’s pitch over the right-hand wall. Chen’s two-run homer propelled the home team ahead 3-1, and Monkeys closer Chu Cheng-yang maintained the lead by keeping the Brothers scoreless in the ninth inning, securing the win in front of a crowd of 18,000.
The match was characterized by a classic pitchers’ duel between Brothers’ starter Nivaldo Rodrguez and Monkeys’ Pedro Fernandez. Rodrguez allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning due to a catching error by Kao Yu-chieh, giving the Monkeys a 1-0 lead. Rodrguez pitched a total of seven innings, throwing 95 pitches and giving up two runs (one unearned) on four hits, two walks, and achieving seven strikeouts.
Fernandez, on the other hand, conceded one run in the top of the fourth inning when Brothers’ No. 4 slugger Hsu Chi-hung sent his pitch over the center-field wall, equalizing the game. Fernandez was relieved after six innings and 101 pitches, allowing one run on four hits and striking out 10.
Originally scheduled for Wednesday, Sunday’s game was postponed due to heavy rain that flooded the field at Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium. The potentially decisive Game 5 will take place at the Brothers’ home, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, on Monday.
According to CPBL records, teams leading 3-1 in a best-of-seven CPBL championship series have won the title 82.4 percent of the time. The Monkeys, aiming for their eighth CPBL title since their founding in 2003, previously won one title as the La New Bears in 2006 and six as the Lamigo Monkeys. This title would be their first since being acquired by the Japan-based Rakuten Group, Inc. in 2020, which led to their current name change.