This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy CPBL series.
Rakuten Monkeys (15-4) at Uni-President Lions (8-14)
Wednesday, May 12, 6:35 AM EDT
Projected Starters
LHP Justin Nicolino (1-0, 4-05 ERA) vs LHP Chiang Chen-Yen (1-2, 6.00 ERA)
Game Preview
The Monkeys kept rolling atop the CPBL standings with their victory in the series opener Tuesday, winning a 17-10 shootout that saw both teams grab 18 hits. The visitors will turn to American lefty Justin Nicolino as they look for their seventh win in their last eight games. He's only made two starts thus far in his CPBL career, both against the Guardians. He tossed eight scoreless innings in his first appearance but allowed six runs in 5.1 frames in his most recent outing. The Lions will turn to local lefty Chiang Chen-Yen as they hope to avoid their eighth loss in nine games. Chiang has had two good starts and one poor one thus far this season, but, like many pitchers, that poor start came against the Monkeys. He'll need to do far better than his last game against the league leaders if the Lions are to have any hope in this one, as he allowed nine runs in four innings in that contest.
Monkeys' Last Lineup
CF Chen Chen-Wei
SS Lin Chih-Ping
RF Lan Yin-Lun
1B Chen Chun-Hsiu
LF Chu Yu-Hsien
2B Kuo Yen-Wen
3B Lin Li
DH Liao Chien-Fu
C Yen Hung-Chun
Lions' Last Lineup
LF Chen Chieh-Hsien
DH Su Chih-Chieh
1B Kuo Fu-Lin
RF Lin An-Ko
3B Chen Yung-Chi
CF Tang Chao-Ting
C Kuo Chun-Wei
2B
Rakuten Monkeys (15-4) at Uni-President Lions (8-14)
Wednesday, May 12, 6:35 AM EDT
Projected Starters
LHP Justin Nicolino (1-0, 4-05 ERA) vs LHP Chiang Chen-Yen (1-2, 6.00 ERA)
Game Preview
The Monkeys kept rolling atop the CPBL standings with their victory in the series opener Tuesday, winning a 17-10 shootout that saw both teams grab 18 hits. The visitors will turn to American lefty Justin Nicolino as they look for their seventh win in their last eight games. He's only made two starts thus far in his CPBL career, both against the Guardians. He tossed eight scoreless innings in his first appearance but allowed six runs in 5.1 frames in his most recent outing. The Lions will turn to local lefty Chiang Chen-Yen as they hope to avoid their eighth loss in nine games. Chiang has had two good starts and one poor one thus far this season, but, like many pitchers, that poor start came against the Monkeys. He'll need to do far better than his last game against the league leaders if the Lions are to have any hope in this one, as he allowed nine runs in four innings in that contest.
Monkeys' Last Lineup
CF Chen Chen-Wei
SS Lin Chih-Ping
RF Lan Yin-Lun
1B Chen Chun-Hsiu
LF Chu Yu-Hsien
2B Kuo Yen-Wen
3B Lin Li
DH Liao Chien-Fu
C Yen Hung-Chun
Lions' Last Lineup
LF Chen Chieh-Hsien
DH Su Chih-Chieh
1B Kuo Fu-Lin
RF Lin An-Ko
3B Chen Yung-Chi
CF Tang Chao-Ting
C Kuo Chun-Wei
2B Lin Ching-Kai
SS Lin Tzu-Chieh
Top Picks
Justin Nicolino, Monkeys: The pitcher choice in this contest is an easy one. It's rarely the right move to start a pitcher against the Monkeys' excellent lineup, so when you have to pay an extra 6.5 credits to do so, there's little reason to second-guess the obvious choice.
Lin Li, Monkeys: Lin returned from a brief absence Tuesday and looked like he'd never left, going 3-for-6 at the plate. Assuming he returns to his usual spot near the top of the Monkeys' lineup, he'll be a strong captain choice in this one.
Chen Chun-Hsiu, Monkeys: You'll want to load up on right-handed bats with a left-hander on the mound for both teams. That tips the scales towards Chen among the Monkeys' plethora of strong bats. He has just one home run so far this season, but he's recorded a strong .358 batting average.
Kuo Fu-Lin, Lions: If you're looking to differentiate yourself from the crowd with a heavy Lions lineup in this contest, right-handed bat Kuo would make for a strong captain choice. He's hit six homers so far this season, already one more than his total in 62 games last year.
Captaincy Options
1. Lin Li
2. Chen Chun-Hsiu
3. Kuo Fu-Lin
Dream11 Team
C Liao Chien-Fu
IF Lin Li (C)
IF Chen Chun-Hsiu (VC)
IF Kuo Fu-Lin
IF Chen Yung-Chi
IF Lin Chih-Ping
OF Lan Yin-Lun
OF Tang Chao-Ting
