Brothers Beat Dragons 4-3 to Force Historic Game 6 in Taiwan Series

Chiang Kun-yu keeps CTBC's championship hopes alive

The CTBC Brothers became the first team in Taiwan Series history to win twice after falling behind three games to none, beating the Wei Chuan Dragons 4-3 at Taipei Dome on October 25, 2026. Shortstop Chiang Kun-yu delivered three hits, drove in two runs and scored the winner after stealing third base in the ninth inning.

The victory cut Wei Chuan's lead to 3-2 in the championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Game 6 is scheduled for October 26 at 3:05 p.m. at Taipei Dome, with the Dragons still needing one victory to claim the title and the Brothers needing two.

CTBC had led 3-1 before Wei Chuan scored twice in the seventh inning. With the score tied in the ninth, Chiang singled against Dragons closer Lin Kai-wei, advanced on Kao Yu-chieh's sacrifice bunt and stole third. Huang Wei-sheng then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Chiang to race home for the decisive run.

Félix Peña protected that advantage by retiring all three Dragons hitters in the bottom of the ninth. His two innings without allowing a run earned him a second consecutive relief victory and gave the Brothers another chance to extend a comeback already without precedent in the league's championship series.

A comeback beyond the previous limit

Nine teams had previously fallen behind 3-0 in the Taiwan Series. Seven were swept in four games, while the other two won Game 4 but were eliminated in Game 5. None reached a sixth game.

CTBC broke that pattern by surviving twice. The Brothers first won Game 4 by a 5-4 score in 11 innings, then followed with another victory decided by a single run. Across those two elimination games, their combined winning margin was just two runs.

The Dragons retain the simpler route to the championship: one more victory ends the series. CTBC must win Game 6 to force a deciding seventh game, then win again to take the title. Sunday's result changed the history of teams facing a 3-0 deficit, while leaving the Brothers with no room for another loss.

The matchup followed CTBC's playoff victory over Uni on October 12, when an 8-2 win secured the first Taiwan Series meeting between the Brothers and Dragons. All seven potential championship games were assigned to Taipei Dome.

Two timely hits build the early lead

Wang Wei-chen started CTBC's second inning with a single against John Gant, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. After the next two hitters were retired, Chiang singled to left field and Wang charged home. Wei Chuan challenged the safe ruling at the plate, but a video review upheld the call.

The Brothers repeated the combination of a hit, an extra base gained through running and another timely swing in the fourth. Sung Sheng-jui singled and stole second before Chiang doubled to right field, bringing him home for a 2-0 lead.

Both of Chiang's early run scoring hits came with two outs. CTBC had little margin for an empty plate appearance in either situation: another out would have ended the inning and left the runner stranded. Chiang instead converted both chances into runs.

Liu Chi-hung answered in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left field against Nivaldo Rodriguez. The drive cut CTBC's lead to 2-1. It was Wei Chuan's second home run of the series and Liu's third in his Taiwan Series career.

Stolen bases shape the scoring

Huang helped create CTBC's third run in the seventh inning by drawing a walk and stealing second. Yueh Tung-hua, who had entered at second base in the previous inning, followed with a double in his first plate appearance. Huang scored, the Brothers led 3-1 and Gant's outing ended.

CTBC repeatedly moved runners into positions where a single hit could bring them home. Sung's steal preceded Chiang's fourth inning double, Huang's steal preceded Yueh's seventh inning double, and Chiang's steal in the ninth put him close enough to score on a caught fly ball.

A sacrifice fly allows a runner to advance after an outfielder catches the ball, provided the runner waits until the catch before leaving the base. Chiang's move from second to third was therefore crucial: Huang could drive in the winning run with a deep enough fly even if the defense caught it.

Wei Chuan also tried to advance through aggressive running. In the sixth inning, Li Kai-wei drew a walk but was thrown out attempting to steal by Brothers catcher Kao. That ended a potential Dragons opportunity before their larger rally in the seventh.

A typhoon delay changes the pitching choices

Game 5 took place after a typhoon postponed it by two days. Combined with a scheduled rest day, the interruption gave CTBC enough time to bring Rodriguez back after four days of rest following his Game 3 start. He became the first pitcher to start both Games 3 and 5 of a Taiwan Series.

Rodriguez kept the Dragons quiet for most of the evening. After allowing Li Kai-wei a first inning single, he retired 11 consecutive batters before Liu's fourth inning home run. He struck out five and walked one, departing with one out in the seventh after another Liu single.

Gant returned after seven days of rest, having dominated Game 1 with eight scoreless innings and only two hits allowed. His fifth game assignment was harder work: he threw 111 pitches, issued two walks and committed two wild pitches, one each in the second and third innings.

The second inning wild pitch directly helped CTBC score by moving Wang to second before Chiang's single. Another wild pitch and a passed ball, a pitch the catcher fails to control, helped Chang Jen-wei reach third in the next inning. Gant escaped that threat by striking out Tseng Sung-en.

Wei Chuan changed catchers for the fourth inning, replacing Lin Chen-hsun with Chiang Shao-hung. Lin had also been involved in the second inning collision with Wang at home plate. Gant continued to keep the contest close, but CTBC found another run against him in the seventh.

Wei Chuan erases the advantage in the seventh

Liu's single with one out in the bottom of the seventh prompted CTBC to replace Rodriguez with left handed reliever Lu Yen-ching. The change was followed by two hits that transformed the game.

Chang Cheng-yu doubled to bring Liu home and cut the deficit to 3-2. Kuo Tien-hsin followed with another hit, scoring Chang and tying the game. Lu faced two batters and threw only five pitches before CTBC made another pitching change.

Tsai Chi-che stopped the rally by retiring pinch hitter Liu Chun-wei on a foul fly and getting Chiang Shao-hung to fly out to center. Wei Chuan had erased the Brothers' lead, but CTBC escaped the inning without falling behind.

Kuo contributed with his glove as well. In the top of the eighth, he moved back to catch Wang's hard hit ball in center field after Tseng had singled. The play helped keep the score level and left the Dragons within one successful attack of taking control.

Peña wins the confrontation with Liu

Peña entered in the bottom of the eighth for his third appearance of the series and his second in relief. He had started Game 2 and pitched one inning out of the bullpen in CTBC's Game 4 victory.

Wei Chuan threatened again when Li singled and Chu Yu-hsien walked. With two outs and runners on first and second, Liu came to the plate having already homered and singled to begin the seventh inning comeback.

Peña struck him out on a slider after the count reached three balls and two strikes. The out preserved the 3-3 tie and gave CTBC the chance to go ahead in the ninth.

Chiang then opened against Lin with his third hit of the night. Kao's bunt moved him to second, and his steal of third set up Huang's sacrifice fly. Peña returned for the bottom half and retired the side in order, with Chiang also handling the final out in the field.

How the series reached another elimination game

Wei Chuan's opening three victories put CTBC one loss from elimination. The Brothers have since won once in extra innings and once through a ninth inning run, with the weather interruption separating the two games.

• October 12: CTBC beat Uni 8-2 to secure its place in the Taiwan Series.
• October 17: The championship series opened at Taipei Dome.
• Games 1-3: Wei Chuan won all three to move within one victory of the title.
• Game 4: CTBC won 5-4 in 11 innings to avoid a sweep.
• October 25: After two days of typhoon postponements, CTBC won Game 5 by 4-3.
• October 26: Game 6 is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. at Taipei Dome.

Historical results offer a useful comparison for the current position. In 18 previous Taiwan Series that reached Game 6, the team trailing 3-2 recovered to win the championship six times, or one third of those series. CTBC is the first team to reach that position after losing the opening three games.

For the Brothers, the immediate task is another victory before any deciding game becomes possible. For the Dragons, the opportunity remains unchanged in practical terms: win the next game and the championship is theirs. Chiang's hitting and running, followed by Peña's finish, ensured that both teams must return to the field.

Key Points

• CTBC beat Wei Chuan 4-3 at Taipei Dome on October 25, cutting the Dragons' series lead to 3-2.
• The Brothers became the first Taiwan Series team to force Game 6 after falling behind 3-0.
• Chiang Kun-yu had three hits and two runs batted in, then stole third and scored the winning run.
• Huang Wei-sheng drove in the decisive run with a ninth inning sacrifice fly.
• Félix Peña pitched two scoreless innings for his second consecutive relief victory.
• Game 6 is scheduled for October 26 at 3:05 p.m. at Taipei Dome.