Rakuten Monkeys' rare gamble: Four domestic pitchers start in one week

The Rakuten Monkeys are undertaking a rare strategic move in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) by scheduling four domestic pitchers to start games within a single week. This approach is uncommon, especially given the team's reliance on a dual foreign batter lineup.

This week's rotation includes pitcher Chiu Chun-wei, who is making his first start in nearly two years. The CPBL has seen very few instances of teams starting at least four domestic pitchers in a single week. Among those that did, only the 2005 Chinatrust Whales and the 2023 CTBC Brothers managed to secure victories in all four of those starts. Across the league's 37-year history, this specific achievement has only occurred three times.

Rakuten pitcher Chen Ke-yi delivered a commendable performance yesterday, pitching six innings and allowing only three runs. However, he was ultimately credited with the loss due to a lack of offensive support from his team. This prevented him from achieving a rare "four-win week" for domestic pitchers, a feat that would have been historic.

The last team to achieve a four-win week with domestic starters was the CTBC Brothers in May 2023, when pitchers Cheng Kai-wen, Yu Chien, Wu Che-yuan, and Cheng Hao-chun all secured wins. Prior to that, the Chinatrust team accomplished this feat twice in 2005, with different combinations of pitchers including Yang Chi-chia, Hsu Chu-chien, Lin Ying-chieh, and Lin En-yu.