BASEBALL/Brothers defeat Uni-Lions to tie for most CPBL titles

Taipei, Oct. 25 (CNA) The CTBC Brothers defeated the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 4-1 on Friday to win the 2024 Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) championship, marking their 10th title and tying the Uni-Lions for the league record.

The victory, celebrated by a sold-out crowd of 20,000, marked the Brothers' third championship in four years. This follows a seven-year stretch between 2014 and 2020, during which they finished runner-up in all six of their Taiwan Series appearances.

However, in their last three Taiwan Series the Brothers have won 12 of 13 games. The latest title gave the team a 4-3 edge over the Uni-Lions in Taiwan Series matchups.

Tseng Song-en (曾頌恩) was named Taiwan Series MVP for his strong performance at the plate, recording 11 hits in 21 at-bats, including two home runs and seven RBIs.

Meanwhile, Brothers manager Hirano Keiichi thanked fans across Taiwan in a postgame interview for their support in his first year in the role, calling them "Taiwan No. 1, the best in Taiwan."

Entering Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium with their backs against the wall, the Uni-Lions took an early lead in the first inning when veteran Chen Yung-chi's (陳鏞基) RBI single brought Lin Chia-wei (林佳緯) home.

However, the Brothers quickly took a lead 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning with a walk and three hits, holding onto that advantage for the remainder of the game.

The Uni-Lions had a chance to tie the game in the fourth inning with three hits, including a double by Hu Chin-lung (胡金龍), but they came up empty-handed as Brothers catcher Kao Yu-chieh (高宇傑) caught two runners attempting to steal second base.

The Brothers extended their lead in later innings.

Brothers starting pitcher José de Paula allowed six hits, walked one, and struck out three over seven innings to be named MVP of the game. He was also recognized as the outstanding player of the series for his two seven-inning starts.