CTBC Brothers Beat Uni Lions 8–2 to Set Up First Taiwan Series Against Wei Chuan Dragons

Five consecutive scoring innings send Brothers into the final

The CTBC Brothers defeated the Uni Lions 8–2 at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on October 12, ending a tense playoff challenge series and securing the first Taiwan Series meeting between the Brothers and the Wei Chuan Dragons. The championship opener is scheduled for October 17 at Taipei Dome, with all seven potential games assigned to the same venue.

Starter Cheng Hao chun held the Lions to one run over five and two thirds innings, while the Brothers scored in every inning from the fourth through the eighth. A fifth inning featuring three walks with the bases loaded turned a narrow advantage into a 4–0 lead. Solo home runs by Chang Jen wei and Chan Tzu hsien then helped put the game beyond the Lions.

The victory stopped a comeback that had brought Uni within one win of eliminating the Brothers. After losing the opening game, the Lions won twice in succession to level the series at two wins apiece, counting the automatic victory the Brothers received under the playoff rules.

The final inning also brought an emotional farewell. Veteran Lions infielder Chen Yung chi singled in his final career appearance, then left to a standing ovation, embraced teammate Chen Sheng ping and removed his cap to acknowledge the crowd.

How four games produced a deciding contest

The series began with an unusual advantage: CTBC already had one credited win before either team took the field. As the second half champion entering the challenge round, the Brothers also received home games for the first, third and fourth contests. Uni, the wild card entrant, hosted only the second game.

That structure explains why four actual games settled a series requiring three credited victories. CTBC's opening win put the Lions two victories behind, but Uni erased that gap over the next two evenings.

• October 9: The Brothers won 4–1 at Intercontinental Stadium, moving to a 2–0 series advantage with their automatic win included.
• October 10: The Lions won 1–0 at their Asia Pacific home venue to keep the series alive.
• October 11: Uni won 4–2 at Intercontinental Stadium, tying the credited series score at 2–2.
• October 12: The deciding game was scheduled for 18:35 at Intercontinental Stadium. CTBC won 8–2 to advance.
• October 17: The Taiwan Series opener against Wei Chuan is scheduled at Taipei Dome.

Uni's two victories made the finale a genuine elimination game for both teams. The Brothers had scored just two runs across those losses, then produced eight in the deciding contest. Their offense recovered precisely when another defeat would have ended their season.

The standings did not determine the playoff advantage

The Lions entered the postseason with a better full season record than CTBC. Uni finished with 64 wins, 55 losses and one tie, a winning percentage of .538. The Brothers recorded 56 wins, 62 losses and two ties, a .475 winning percentage, leaving them 7.5 games behind the Lions in the standings.

Those percentages exclude tied games. Uni's 64 wins came from 119 games with a win or loss, while CTBC's 56 came from 118. That distinction explains why the listed percentages are not simply wins divided by the 120 games each club played.

The league's split season format nevertheless gave CTBC the stronger position in this matchup. When different teams win the two halves, the half season champion with the higher full season winning percentage advances directly to the Taiwan Series. The other half season champion enters the challenge round with an automatic win, facing the best remaining team by full season winning percentage.

Wei Chuan finished first with 67 wins and 53 losses, a .558 winning percentage, and secured the direct championship berth. CTBC's second half title gave it the challenge round advantages despite its lower full season standing. The final therefore pairs the full season leader with a team that qualified through its success in the second half.

Both starters escaped early trouble

The Lions turned to Brock Dykxhoorn after only two days of rest. He gave them four innings, allowing five hits and one run on 77 pitches, with three strikeouts and one walk. His outing kept Uni close until the bullpen took over.

CTBC threatened immediately. Chang Shih lun doubled in the first inning and Chen Chun hsiu walked, but Dykxhoorn recovered with a strikeout and a flyout to leave both runners stranded. Chang collected another hit in the third, only to be tagged out during an attempted baserunning play. A replay review upheld the out.

Cheng faced his own test in the second inning, walking Pan Chieh kai and Lin Tzu hao consecutively. Pitching coach Wang Chien ming visited the mound, and the Brothers eventually escaped when Chen Sheng ping hit into a double play.

In the third, Chiu Chih cheng singled and stole second, giving the Lions a runner in scoring position. Cheng struck out Lin Chia wei with a fastball recorded at 153 kilometers per hour. An inning later, Chen Chieh hsien singled but was picked off by Cheng, with another replay review leaving the original call unchanged.

Those outs on the bases mattered in a game that remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. Both teams had put runners aboard, but neither converted its early opportunities into a sustained rally.

Three bases loaded walks changed the game

Chan Tzu hsien opened the decisive stretch with a double in the fourth. After a flyout, Chiang Kun yu drove him home for a 1–0 Brothers lead. Accounts differ on whether Chiang's hit was a double or a single, but agree that it brought in the game's first run.

Dykxhoorn's departure after four innings marked the turning point. Kuo Chun lin entered for the Lions in the fifth and allowed three consecutive singles, loading the bases with nobody out. Chen Chun hsiu then walked, forcing home the second CTBC run.

Uni changed pitchers again, bringing in Lee Chun. Wang Wei chen hit into a fielder's choice, but Chan drew another walk with the bases loaded. Hu Chih wei replaced Lee and walked Sung Sheng jui, forcing home a third run in the inning.

A walk awards the batter first base. When all three bases are occupied, every runner must advance, so the runner on third scores without the ball being put in play. CTBC used that route three times in the fifth, stretching its lead from 1–0 to 4–0.

The inning exposed the difference between the Lions' starting and relief pitching. Dykxhoorn had allowed just one run across four innings. Three successive relievers then issued the walks that accounted for all three runs in the fifth, after the Brothers' singles had created the pressure.

Cheng and Lu limited the Lions' response

Cheng continued into the sixth, having escaped another threat in the fifth when Chen Chung yu singled and Lin Hung hsien walked with two outs. He ended that inning by fielding Chiu's grounder himself.

The Lions finally broke through in the sixth. With two outs, Lin Pei wei and Pan hit consecutive singles, prompting the Brothers to replace Cheng with Lu Yen ching. Uni countered with pinch hitter Lee Cheng ling, whose single brought home its first run.

Cheng finished with five hits allowed, three walks and two strikeouts over five and two thirds innings. He was charged with one run. Although his strikeout total was modest, his ability to survive several innings with runners aboard kept CTBC ahead until its offense opened the gap.

Lu prevented the sixth inning rally from becoming a larger comeback. He then retired the Lions in order in both the seventh and eighth, needing only 11 pitches in the seventh. Those quiet innings gave Uni no chance to build momentum while the Brothers continued scoring.

Two home runs and another rally widened the lead

The Lions' first run briefly reduced the deficit to 4–1, but Chang Jen wei answered in the bottom of the sixth. He drove a misplaced Hu Chih wei fastball over the left field wall for a solo home run, restoring the four run margin.

Chan followed with another solo homer against Hu in the seventh, also to left field. His earlier double had started the opening scoring sequence, and his fifth inning walk had brought home another run. The homer added a third distinct contribution to CTBC's offense.

The Brothers scored twice more in the eighth, with Chiang Kun yu and Huang Wei sheng contributing hits. Veteran Lions pitcher Wang Ching ming entered as Uni tried to contain the damage, but CTBC finished the inning ahead 8–1.

The five consecutive scoring innings gave the Brothers several ways to win: a timely hit in the fourth, patient batting in the fifth, home runs in the sixth and seventh, and another rally in the eighth. Their final eight runs exceeded the six they had scored across the first three games combined.

A farewell before a new championship pairing

Lee Chen chang took over for the Brothers in the ninth. Pan opened the Lions' last attempt with an extra base hit, and Chen Yung chi followed with a single to left. Chen had entered the game defensively in the sixth, replacing pinch hitter Lee Cheng ling.

Chen's final hit brought the crowd to its feet. His embrace with Chen Sheng ping and acknowledgement of the spectators became the closing emotional moment of Uni's season. The Lions scored once more on a groundout, reducing the final margin to 8–2 without threatening CTBC's advance.

The Brothers now face a championship opponent they have never previously met in the Taiwan Series, including during the franchise's years as the Brother Elephants. Wei Chuan appeared in the final in 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and, after returning to the league, 2023. None of those appearances produced this matchup.

The clubs did meet in the 2022 playoff challenge round, so their postseason history is not entirely new. What changes now is the stage: the league championship, rather than the preliminary round that decides who reaches it.

The planned venue arrangement is also a first. All seven possible Taiwan Series games are scheduled at Taipei Dome, rather than being divided among different stadiums. A series can finish before seven games if one team wins four, so the schedule does not mean every listed game will necessarily be played.

The opening date and venue are set, but the championship starting pitchers and subsequent game times are not established here. CTBC enters with five days between its deciding victory and the scheduled opener, while Wei Chuan moves from its direct qualification into the first Dragons versus Brothers championship series.

Key Points

• CTBC beat Uni 8–2 on October 12 at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium to advance to the Taiwan Series.
• Cheng Hao chun allowed one run over five and two thirds innings.
• Three bases loaded walks in the fifth gave the Brothers a 4–0 lead.
• Chang Jen wei and Chan Tzu hsien hit solo home runs off Hu Chih wei.
• Chen Yung chi singled in his final career appearance and received a standing ovation.
• The Brothers and Dragons will meet in the Taiwan Series for the first time.
• The opener is scheduled for October 17, with all seven potential games at Taipei Dome.