TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Rakuten Monkeys outslugged the CTBC Brothers 9-7 in extra innings on Monday to win Game 5 and claim the Taiwan Series championship.
The victory marked the Monkeys’ eighth championship in franchise history and their first since Rakuten took over the team in 2020. It was also only the second time in league history that a challenger defeated a half-season champion to capture the title. The last team to do so was the Uni-Lions in 2007, per CNA.
The Monkeys finished the regular season with the second-best record in the six-team league before defeating the Uni-Lions in the playoffs to advance to the Taiwan Series. In the championship series, they lost only Game 3 to the Brothers.
In Monday’s matchup at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, the Monkeys struck first with a run in the top of the first inning, but the Brothers responded with two in the bottom half. Rakuten tied the game in the second inning, only for the Brothers to retake the lead 4-3 in the fourth after a throwing error by third baseman Lin Chih-ping (林智平).
The Brothers extended their lead in the sixth inning, scoring once on another throwing error and twice more on a double by Song Cheng-jui (宋晟睿). Trailing by four, the Monkeys rallied in the seventh inning to tie the game at seven and force extra innings.
In the top of the 11th, veteran slugger Lin Hung-yu (林泓育) blasted a two-run homer to deep left field, giving the Monkeys a 9-7 lead and their fourth win in the best-of-seven series.
Rakuten used seven pitchers in the game. Starting pitcher Pedro Fernandez was named Most Valuable Player of the Series after allowing just two runs over 13 innings in two appearances while striking out 15 batters.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) congratulated the Monkeys on social media Monday, calling the game “a roller coaster from start to finish.” He praised the Monkeys for their “incredible resilience and fighting spirit” and commended the Brothers for their determination, saying both teams delivered an unforgettable championship series.
A longtime Uni-Lions fan, Lai joked that he still looks forward to welcoming the Lions to the Presidential Office once they win the championship.
