BASEBALL/Dragons win Game 7 to clinch 1st Taiwan Series in 24 years

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) The Wei Chuan Dragons overpowered the visiting Rakuten Monkeys 6-3 in a winner-takes-all Game 7 Sunday night to clinch their first Chinese Professional Baseball League's (CPBL) Taiwan Series title since 1999.

The Taiwan Series win, secured in front of a raucous home crowd at Tianmu Baseball Stadium, is the Dragons' first since rejoining the CPBL in 2020, and the franchise's fifth overall.

The Dragons won the inaugural Taiwan Series in 1990 and also clinched three titles in a row from 1997 to 1999.

Dragons manager Yeh Chun-chang (葉君璋), who played for the team during its first stint in the CPBL, said the victory had left him "speechless," and thanked the fans for their support.

Sunday's Game 7 MVP went to Dragons' starter Drew Gagnon, who cruised through six innings, giving three runs (two earned) on five hits, while striking out five with no walk in a 88 pitch outing.

Taiwan Series MVP, meanwhile, went to Dragons' Game 6 starter Hsu Jo-hsi (徐若熙), who took the important victory that forced the Game 7.

Nov. 11: CPBL Taiwan Series heads to Game 7 after Dragons beat Monkeys 2-0

In Sunday's do-or-die Game 7, the Monkeys had a great start in the opening frame with an RBI single from designated hitter Liao Chieh-fu (廖健富) to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The early one-run margin did not last long after Dragons' batters took advantage of Monkeys starter Jake Dahlberg's poor control.

The American import threw just 30 pitches, only eight of which were strikes, and was taken out of the game after retiring just two Dragons' batters while giving up three runs on five walks and two hits in the bottom of the first. 

Reliever Tseng Jen-ho (曾仁和) gave up another two runs that gave the home squad a five-one lead in the bottom of the first.

The Monkeys managed to mount a comeback and add two more runs in the second frame to close the gap to 5-3.

In the bottom of the eighth, Dragons catcher Chiang Shao-hung's (蔣少宏) RBI single added another safety run for his team to widen the gap to 6-3.

Closer Jake Brigham was then called up in the top of the ninth to the mound to seal the historic victory for the home squad before the full house at Tianmu Baseball Stadium tossed red ribbons to celebrate the long-awaited Taiwan Series title.

The Dragons first left the CPBL in 1999 immediately after their last Taiwan Series win amid a series of league-wide match-fixing scandals.

In 2019, negotiations regarding the franchise's revival and return to the CPBL took place. The team played one season of CPBL minor league baseball in 2020 and rejoined the CPBL major league in 2021.

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