The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions on Monday defeated the Rakuten Monkeys 8-5 in the opening round of the playoffs to advance to the championship series of the CPBL, where they are to play the CTBC Brothers.
With a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, the Lions, playing in front of a home crowd of 7,214 at Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium, got on the board early, scoring three runs in the first inning and another in the second.
The Lions followed up with another three runs in the fourth inning and one in the sixth, while their starting pitcher, Venezuelan right-hander Mario Sanchez, held the Taoyuan-based Monkeys scoreless through six innings.
Photo: Uni President 7-Eleven Lions, via CNA
However, Sanchez ran into trouble in the top of the seventh inning, allowing three runs on five hits before being taken out for reliever Hector Perez, who gave up another two runs before retiring the side.
Trailing 8-5 in the top of the ninth inning, the Monkeys appeared poised to mount a comeback, but with the bases loaded and only one out, the Lions brought on closer Chen Yun-wen, who struck out the final two Monkeys batters to bring the game and series to a end.
With the win, the Lions advanced to the Taiwan Series, where they face off against the Taichung-based CTBC Brothers beginning on Saturday.
Under CPBL playoff rules that took effect in 2022, the team with the best record in the first half of the regular season, the second half of the season and a wild card are eligible for the playoffs.
The wild card (the team out of the remaining four teams with the best full-season record) plays a best-of-five series against the half-season winner with the lower winning percentage.
The half-season winner — the Lions — are also awarded one win to start the playoff series.
By contrast, the Taiwan Series is played as a simple best-of-seven series, with the higher-seeded team designated as the hosts for games 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7.
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