The stage is set for the Taiwan Series after the Rakuten Monkeys on Monday beat the Uni-President Lions 4-3 in Game 5 of the CPBL Challenger Series in Kaohsiung.
The Monkeys, who entered the top of the ninth scoreless, tied the game with a three-run blast by Lin Chih-ping and scored the winning run in the 10th on an RBI single by Lin Li, a three-time batting champion in the CPBL. Both players entered the game as pinch hitters.
“The coach told me to stay prepared as a pinch hitter in the later part of the game. My teammates had played really well over the last two games to give me some rest,” said Lin Chih-ping, a 40-year-old veteran who admitted feeling fatigued after a full season.
Photo: CNA
Named Most Valuable Player of the game, Lin said he felt “in the groove” before stepping into the batter’s box.
“I just focused on a spot and swung when I saw the ball come around there... I knew it was gone the moment I hit it,” he said.
Rakuten manager Kenji Furuki said the pinch-hit appearance had been part of their plan, and he praised the Uni-Lions as a “very strong opponent.”
“Both teams gave their all in this game. Our players never gave up until the very last moment to get the win,” said the Japanese manager, the first non-Taiwanese to lead the team since Rakuten took over the franchise in 2020.
It marks the first time Furuki has led the Monkeys to the Taiwan Series since taking over as manager at the end of the 2023 season.
After the game, Uni-Lions manager Lin Yue-ping said he accepted the result.
“This shows our team still needs more backbone. Throughout this series — whether in relief pitching or defense — these are areas where we need to improve. We accept that with humility, and during fall training or next season, we’ll focus on building a team that wins with defense,” he said.
Monday’s game reflected the trajectory of the series, in which the Uni-Lions repeatedly took early leads, but failed to close them out.
Due to CPBL’s playoff format, the Uni-Lions entered the best-of-five series with one automatic win as first-half season champions, even though the Monkeys posted a higher winning percentage overall — second only to the CTBC Brothers, their upcoming opponents in the Taiwan Series.
The Uni-Lions put the Monkeys on the ropes after a 2-1 victory in the series opener on Friday and appeared one step away from reaching their second straight Taiwan Series when they led 6-2 after five innings in Game 2 on Saturday.
However, the Lions managed no hits and only four walks for the rest of the game, while the Monkeys tallied nine hits and five walks, scoring in three of the last four innings — including three runs in the sixth and a walk-off single.
The Monkeys then evened the series with a 9-3 win in Game 3 before completing their comeback on Monday.
Lin Yue-ping, who has managed the Uni-Lions since mid-2020, has led the team to a league-best 10 CPBL titles.
Meanwhile, the victory sent the Monkeys to the Taiwan Series for the third time in the past four seasons as they seek their first championship since 2019.
The best-of-seven Taiwan Series is to start on Saturday at the Taipei Dome, where the first three games would be played, with the Brothers hosting the opening two.
The Monkeys are to host Game 4 in Taoyuan, their second and final home game of the series, before the Brothers host the remaining three games in Taichung, if necessary.
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