2025 Taiwan Series G3: Brothers 2 – Monkeys 1

On October 21, powered by early rallies, the CTBC Brothers defeated the Rakuten Monkeys 2-0 in Game 3 of the Taiwan Series. The Brothers kept themselves within reach of the championship, now trailing 1-2 in the best-of-seven series.

The victory also snapped the Monkeys’ five-game postseason winning streak (Playoff Series G2-G3-G4, Taiwan Series G1-G2).

UPDATE: Taiwan Series G4-G5-G6-G7 Rescheduled Due to Weather

On October 22, the league announced that due to heavy rain this week, both the Rakuten Monkeys and CTBC Brothers have agreed to reschedule Games 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the Taiwan Series to a later date. Please see below for the new dates:

  • G4 – October 26 at Taoyuan (Monkeys home game)
  • G5 – October 27 at Taichung (Brothers home game)
  • G6 – October 28 at Taichung (Brothers home game)
  • G7 – October 29 at Taichung (Brothers home game)

Game 3 Recap

The Brothers struck first in the top of the second inning when Chan Tzu-Hsien drilled the second pitch he saw and sent it deep to left for a solo home run. As Chan crossed home plate, he pointed to the sky to honour his father, who had recently passed away.

“I was asking whether my dad had seen this home run,” Chan broke down in tears while talking to the media after the game.

In the top of the third inning, the Brothers continued their offence. Wang Wei-Chen reached base with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a grounder to short. He then came around to score on Wang Cheng-Shun’s double down the line to make it 2-0.

The Monkeys had a chance to even the score in the bottom of the third, but two outstanding defensive plays by the Brothers’ fielders kept that big zero on the scoreboard.

With one out, the Monkeys’ Cheng Chin lined a deep drive down the first-base line that looked like a sure double, but the Brothers’ right fielder Sung Cheng-Jui quickly scooped the ball near the wall and fired a perfect throw to cut Cheng down at second.

The next batter, Lin Cheng-Hua, hit another deep line drive to nearly the same spot for a double. Had Cheng not been thrown out, the Monkeys likely would have scored. With a runner on second, Lin Li nearly blooped a single, but the Brothers’ second baseman made a leaping catch to end the bottom of the third inning.

Jesús Vargas, the Brothers’ starter, who had not faced the Monkeys during the 2025 season, was efficient with his pitch count, needing fewer than 50 pitches to complete the first five innings. Vargas finished the night hurling 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing 5 hits and striking out 3 on 68 pitches.

The Brothers then turned to their bullpen, with Wu Chun-Wei and Lee Chen-Chang combining to close out the game. The pair allowed only 1 hit and struck out 2 over 2.1 innings, sealing the Game 3 victory for the Brothers.

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