The Chinese Professional Baseball League season is about to head into the home stretch, with just three weeks remaining for teams to make a final push toward the postseason.

Rakuten Regains the Top Spot - The Rakuten Monkeys have soared over the last week to once again climb to the top spot in the CPBL. They have won five of their last six games and are back in first place in the second half, just a half-game ahead of the CTBC Brothers.

Holding a half-game lead Wednesday, the Monkeys played the TSG Hawks. With the Monkeys needing to win the second half to reach the postseason, every game is crucial. Their ace, Pedro Fernández, put together one of the best performances of the season when they needed it most. He went all nine innings and allowed just four hits while striking out seven in a complete-game shutout on 101 pitches. It was the first time he had thrown more than seven innings.

It was the first shutout for the Monkeys this season and just the fourth of the CPBL season. The win kept the Monkeys narrowly ahead of the CTBC Brothers by a half-game.

As the Brothers have looked to remain on the heels of the Monkeys, they began a crucial two-game set with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions on Wednesday night. They entered the series tied for second place in the league’s second half at 22-19.

After the Brothers came back for a 5-3 win Wednesday, the Lions needed a victory to avoid losing ground to the Brothers in the quest for a postseason berth. They got a big start from their No. 2 starter, Brock Dykxhoorn, when they needed it.

The Lions broke through in the second inning as Tzu-Chieh Lin drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single. He followed that with another single in the fourth, this time driving in two runs to make it a 3-0 game. The very next hitter, Cheng-Yu Chen, drove in another run with a single to make it 4-0.

On a night when Brock Dykxhoorn was dealing, that was more than enough offense. The Canadian right-hander went seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts while allowing six hits. The Brothers did not get a runner into scoring position against Dykxhoorn after the first inning, and he cruised from there. He lowered his ERA to 1.60 on the season, which ranks second in the league.

The Lions added single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the 6-0 win. The victory brought them back into a tie with the Brothers at 23-20 in the second half.

Both the Lions and Brothers are just one game behind the Rakuten Monkeys for the top spot. Just as important for the Lions is their quest for a wild-card spot. With 17 games left in the second half, they are the Fubon Guardians’ main competition for the wild-card spot and currently sit just a half-game behind the Guardians for the final postseason berth.

After the conclusion of the second half, the Brothers and Lions will play a makeup game from the season’s first half. It could very well determine whether the Lions or Guardians get the final playoff spot.

The Weekend Ahead - In one of the biggest weekends remaining in the CPBL, the CTBC Brothers and Rakuten Monkeys will meet for a three-game series. The Monkeys hold just a one-game lead over the Brothers and Lions. In a rematch of last year’s Taiwan Series, the Brothers will look to overtake Rakuten for the top spot and put themselves back in a playoff position.

Another big series will feature the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions battling the Wei Chuan Dragons in a three-game set. Just one game separates the two teams in the standings, and with every series carrying huge importance, the Lions will look to keep pace with the Brothers and Monkeys at the top of the league’s second half.

The only team to secure its spot in the postseason so far is the Wei Chuan Dragons. They won the league’s first half at 39-21 and are closing in on clinching their place in the Taiwan Series as the half-season winner with the best overall winning percentage on the season. A strong series against the Lions will help get them closer to clinching a Taiwan Series berth.

The Fubon Guardians lead the Lions by just a half-game for the wild-card spot and will be taking on the TSG Hawks for three games. All three series this weekend have massive implications for the postseason chase.

Standings
1. Rakuten Monkeys: 22-17
2. Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions: 23-20
3. CTBC Brothers: 23-20
4. Wei Chuan Dragons: 21-20
5. Fubon Guardians: 18-22
6. TSG Hawks: 16-24