Friday 4 October Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-10-04 Eagles-Lions postponed (rain)
The Yokohama DeNA BayStars defeated the Chunichi Drasgons 3-1 in the first of a weekend series of make-up games the two teams will play. Ryosuke Ohtsu allowed one hit and one walk over 6 innings and Ryoya Kurihara hit his 20th home run of the year as the SoftBank Hawks and Lotte Marines.closed out their regular seasons with the Hawks earning a 1-0 home shutout win. The postponed game between the Rakuten Eagles and Seibu Lions has been rescheduled for Wednesday 9 October.
Sugano rediscovered his youth and has had a brilliant year this season, but he turns 35 on October 11. Career NPB stats: https://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/41745137.html 1842202011040616541 is not a valid tweet id
Hiroki Fukunaga legged out a grounder to shortstop allowing Mikiya Tanaka to score the sayonara run giving the Chunichi Dragons a 4-3 win over the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The afternoon was emotional for Shinji Tajima who will retire at the end of the season following a successful 12 year career with the Dragons. Tyler Austin singled in the 1st inning in his only at bat of the day, lifting his average to .316 to essentially win the Central League batting title. Rookie infielder Shoichi Futamata went 2-for-3 with an RBI as the Hiroshima Carp recorded their first two-game winning streak in over a month following their 3-1 win over the Yakult Swallows. Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjō engaged in a bit of folly by having eight players switching positions throughout their 3-2 win over the Rakuten Eagles in Sendai. As an example, outfielder Chusei Mannami began the game in his customary right field position, moved to left field in the 4th frame, then to center in the 6th, back to left in the 7th and finally a return to right in the 8th. Kotaro Kiyomiya, who had no home runs on 7 July, hit his 15th home run of the season in the 8th inning which proved to be the game winner.
Sunday 6 October Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-10-06 Eagles-Buffaloes was called in the top of the 7th inning (rain)
Yōta Kyōda's two-RBI single in the 4th inning was enough to give the Yokohama DeNA BayStars a 2-0 win over the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya. The result brought to an end the Central League regular season. The Dragons controlled their own destiny as a win or tie would have seen them avoid finishing last in the CL standings. Instead, the loss see Chunichi finish bottom of the CL table for the third consecutive year, the first time this has happened in club history. Manager Kazuyoshi Tatsunami immediately announced after the game that was stepping down. Kenya Wakatsuki blasted a grand slam in the 2nd inning to help propel the Orix Buffaloes to an 8-1 win over the Rakuten Eagles. Leandro Cedeno also homered for Orix, his 15th of the year. The game was called one batter into the top of the 7th inning and although Buffaloes ace Hiroya Miyagi was credited with his third complete game of the year, the rain-shortened game meant that he finished 4 outs short of a qualified season and 7 outs away from winning the Pacific League ERA title. SoftBank Hawks releiver-turned-starter Livan Moinelo claims the crown with a 1.88 ERA in 163 innings pitched. Miyagi finished with a 1.91 ERA in 141.2 IP The Buffaloes finished the 2024 season without scoring double digits in any games for the first time in club history since the two-league NPB was formed in 1950. Manager Satoshi Nakajima also announced that he will step down despite the front office wanting him to return. The team failed to make the playoffs after having reached the Nippon Series in his first three years in charge including winning championship in 2022. Nakajima said that he felt like the team got complacent and needs a new face to change the environment.
There are two more regular season games to be made up, both in the Pacific League taking place at Miyagi Park in Sendai: Tuesday 8 October, Eagles vs Fighters Wednesday 9 October, Eagles vs Lions
Yūya Ogo launched an RBI double in the 4th inning and then scored on Hideto Asamura's sacrifice fly to account for the game's only runs as the Rakuten Eagles downed the playoff bound Nippon-Ham Fighters 2-0 on Tuesday. Ryōta Takinaka tossed 7 shutout innings for his fourth win of the year. Nippon-Ham starter Hiromi Itoh also went 7 frames but suffered his fifth loss despite registering eight strikeouts. Daiki Asama hit a modasho 3-for-4 in the leadoff spot for the Fighters. The regular season will conclude on Wednesday with the Eagles hosting the Seibu Lions.
On Wednesday Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata announced the 28-player roster that will participate in the 2024 Premier12 tournament to be played in November. The squad will play Czechia in two exhibition games at the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya on 9-10 November before facing Australia in their Premier12 opener on 13 November. PITCHERS Shoma Fujihira (Eagles) Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) LHP Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) Koki Kitayama (Fighters) Taisei Ota (Giants) Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) Tatsuya Shimizu (Dragons) Chihiro Sumida (Lions) LHP Shota Suzuki (Marines) LHP Sora Suzuki (Eagles) LHP Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) Shosei Togo (Giants) Rikuto Yokoyama (Marines) CATCHERS Yuto Koga (Lions) Shogo Sakakura (Carp) Toshiya Satoh (Marines) INFIELDERS Sosuke Genda (Lions) Kaito Kozono (Carp) Kotaro Kurebayashi (Buffaloes) Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) Shugo Maki (BayStars) Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) OUTFIELDERS Ryota Isobata (Fighters) Chusei Mannami (Fighters) Shota Morishita (Tigers) Keita Sano (BayStars) Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles)[ 1843869239280840806 is not a valid tweet id
Wednesday 9 October Boxscore: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/game/2021028788/stats Eagles-Lions finished tied after 12 innings
With runners on first and second in the bottom of the 12th inning, Kaima Taira struck out Itsuki Murabayashi with the final pitch of the 2024 NPB regular season as the Raukten Eagles and Seibu Lions finished in a 2-2 stalemate. Seibu took the lead in the 1st inning on a solo home run from Shūta Tonosaki, his eighth bomb of the year. Daiju Nomura drove in a second run with a double to left field that scored Manaya Nishikawa from second. The Eagles hit back with two runs in the 7th. Daichi Suzuki singled with the bases loaded scoring Ryōsuke Tatsumi, and Murabayashi followed with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Daiki Irie with the tying run. Lions starter Chihiro Sumida accepted a no=-decision despite going 9 innings with eight strikeouts. Seibu finish the year with a record of 49-91-3, their .350 winning percentage is the second worst in the club's history. Having played in every game for the 9th consecutive season, Rakuten infielder Hideto Asamura has now played 1,306 consecutive games going back to 2015 when he last missed a game while playing for the Lions. Asamura ranks fourth all-time on the NPB Tetsujin list of consecutive games played. 2215 Sachio Kinugasa (1970–1987) 1939 Takashi Toritani (2005-2018) 1766 Tomoaki Kanemoto (1998-2011) 1306 Hideto Asamura (2015-present)
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .316 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) .315 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .294 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .292 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .289 - Shogo Akiyama (Carp) .288 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .287 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) .285 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .283 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .2803 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .2796 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) On-Base Percentage .399 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .382 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) .379 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .371 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .368 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .365 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .363 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .362 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .360 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .350 - Takayoshi Noma (Carp) OPS .983 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) .905 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .863 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .851 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .846 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .837 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .815 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .804 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .766 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .756 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) Home Runs 33 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 27 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 25 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) 23 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 23 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) 17 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) 17 - Jose Osuna (Swallows) 15 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 15 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 14 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) 14 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) 14 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) 14 - Tetsuto Yamada (Swallows) RBIs 86 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 83 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 74 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 73 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 72 - Jose Osuna (Swallows) 70 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) 70 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 69 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) 68 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) 67 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) AVG with RISP .388 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) .354 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) .351 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .341 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) .324 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .3223 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .3220 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .321 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .311 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .305 - Masaya Yano (Carp) Stolen Bases 19 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 16 - Kouki Kajiwara (BayStars) 13 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) 13 - Masaya Yano (Carp) 12 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) 12 - Ryutaro Hatsuki (Carp) 11 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 10 - Haruki Nishikawa (Swallows) 10 - Yūki Okabayashi (Dragons) 10 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 10 - Hidetaka Namiki (Swallows) 10 - Yukihiro Iwata (Swallows) PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club ERA 1.38 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 1.67 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 1.83 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 1.86 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 1.95 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 2.16 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 2.48 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 2.55 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 2.58 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 2.80 - Kotaro Otake (Tigers) WHIP 0.94 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 0.96 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 0.98 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 1.05 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 1.06 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 1.08 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 1.09 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 1.12 - Andre Jackson (BayStars) 1.145 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 1.154 - Kotaro Otake (Tigers) Innings pitched 183.0 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 180.0 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 167.2 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 167.0 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 156.2 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 155.0 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 153.2 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 151.2 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 147.1 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 144.2 - Kotaro Otake (Tigers)\ Strikeouts 156 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 140 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 137 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 130 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 130 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 126 - Foster Griffin (Giants) 121 - Andre Jackson (BayStars) 119 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 114 - Kojiro Yoshimura (Swallows) 114 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) Wins 15 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 13 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 13 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 12 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 12 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 11 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 11 - Sotaro Shimauchi (Carp) 11 - Kotaro Otake (Tigers) 10 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 10 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) Holds 41 - Shinya Matsuyama (Dragons) 40 - Takuma Kirishiki (Tigers) 36 - Tatsuya Shimizu (Dragons) 31 - Javy Guerra (Tigers) 30 - Daichi Ishii (Tigers) 26 - Alberto Baldonado (Giants) 25 - Yuhei Takanashi (Giants) 24 - Sotaro Shimauchi (Carp) 23 - Hiroki Ohnishi (Swallows) 22 - Hiromasa Funabasama (Giants) Saves 43 - Raidel Martínez (Dragons) 38 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 29 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 29 - Kohei Morihara (BayStars) 23 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers) 14 - Javy Guerra (Tigers) 11 - Reiji Kozawa (Swallows) 9 - Alberto Baldonado (Giants) 7 - Kazuto Taguchi (Swallows) 5 - Naofumi Kizawa (Swallows) 5 - Taichi Ishiyama (Swallows)
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .314 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .294 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .281 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) .278 - Toshiya Satoh (Marines) .273 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) .2688 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) .2686 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .266 - Daichi Suzuki (Eagles) .264 - Sosuke Genda (Lions) .262 - Kenta Imamiya (Hawks) On-Base Percentage .439 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .368 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) .353 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .346 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) .3369 - Yuya Ogo (Eagles) .3367 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) .336 - Ariel Martínez (Fighters) .331 - Kenta Imamiya (Hawks) .330 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) .326 - Toshiya Satoh (Marines) OPS .960 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .807 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) .801 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) .783 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) .780 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) .778 - Gregory Polanco (Marines) .772 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .740 - Ariel Martínez (Fighters) .735 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) .728 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) Home Runs 34 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 25 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) 23 - Gregory Polanco (Marines) 21 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) 20 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) 19 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 18 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 15 - Kotaro Kiyomiya (FDighters) 15 - Leandro Cedeño (Buffaloes) 14 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) RBIs 99 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 88 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) 87 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) 72 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 65 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) 60 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) 60 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 60 - Gregory Polanco (Marines) 58 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) 57 - Ariel Martínez (Fighters) AVG with RISP .324 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .323 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .321 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) .302 - Ryoma Nishikawa (Buffaloes) .295 - Yuya Ogo (Eagles) .294 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) .2872 - Toshiya Satoh (Marines) .2871 - Yūya Gunji (Fighters) .282 - Daichi Suzuki (Eagles) .269 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) Stolen Bases 41 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 32 - Yuya Ogo (Eagles) 29 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 20 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) 20 - Go Matsumoto (Fighters) 18 - Ryota Isobata (Fighters) 12 - Sosuke Genda (Lions) 11 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 11 - Hiromi Oka (Marines) 11 - Ryoma Nishikawa (Buffaloes) 11 - Shūta Tonosaki (Lions) 11 - Atsuki Tomosugi (Marines) 11 - Kōshirō Wada (Marines) PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club ERA 1.88 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 2.17 - Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions) 2.34 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 2.36 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 2.54 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 2.65 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 2.70 - Takayuki Kato (Fighters) 2.76 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 2.83 - Takayuki Kishi (Eagles) 3.05 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) WHIP 0.94 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 0.977 - Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions) 0.979 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 1.07 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 1.09 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 1.12 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 1.13 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) 1.146 - Takayuki Kato (Fighters) 1.151 - Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) 1.17 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) Innings pitched 182.2 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 179.1 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 176.1 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 173.1 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 170.1 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 166.2 - Takayuki Kato (Fighters) 163.1 - Kazuya Ojima (Marines) 163.0 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 147.2 - Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) 147.1 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) Strikeouts 187 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 161 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 160 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 155 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 154 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 148 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) 139 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) 137 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 132 - Kazuya Ojima (Marines) 129 - Roki Sasaki (Marines) Wins 14 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 14 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 12 - Kazuya Ojima (Marines) 11 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 11 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 11 - Masaru Fujii (Eagles) 10 - Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions) 10 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 10 - Roki Sasaki (Marines) 10 - Takayuki Kato (Fighters) 10 - Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) Holds 33 - Ryusei Kawano (Fighters) 27 - Shota Suzuki (Marines) 26 - Tomohito Sakai (Eagles) 24 - Seiryu Kotajima (Buffaloes) 24 - Sora Suzuki (Eagles) 23 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 21 - Darwinzon Hernández (Hawks) 20 - Shōma Fujihira (Eagles) 19 - Koya Fujii (Hawks) 19 - Naoki Miyanishi (Fighters) Saves 32 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles) 28 - Albert Abreu (Lions) 25 - Naoya Masuda (Marines) 24 - Roberto Osuna (Hawks) 23 - Andrés Machado (Buffaloes) 20 - Seigi Tanaka (Fighters) 14 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 8 - Taisei Yanagawa (Fighters) 7 - Yoshihisa Hirano (Buffaloes) 5 - Shōta Suzuki (Marines)
観客数 NPB set a new single season attendance record with 26,681,715 fans turning up at ballparks across Japan to watch professional yakyu in 2024. The previous record of 26,536,962 was set in 2019. Here is a comparison of how the average attendance for NPB clubs measured up against those of MLB during the 2024 regular season. Note that all MLB clubs played 81 home games with the lone exception of the Cleveland Guardians whose rained out home game against the Houston Astros was never played. Since NPB teams play 143-game schedules, six teams played 72 home games while the other six hosted 71 games. NPB totals also take into account the 29 games played at the various 'countryside venues' which have slightly lower capacities than NPB ballparks in the metropolises. For the Orix Buffaloes who are based in Osaka, 8 of their home games were played at their alternate home venue in Kobe. Likewise the Hanshin Tigers who played 9 games in Osaka while Koshien Stadium hosted the Spring and Summer high school tournaments in April and August. 48,657 Los Angeles Dodgers 41,801 Hanshin Tigers (72) 41,527 Philadelphia Phillies 41,118 San Diego Padres 40,862 New York Yankees 39,247 Yomiuri Giants (72) 37,862 SoftBank Hawks (72) 37,182 Atlanta Braves 35,923 Chicago Cubs 35,532 St. Louis Cardinals 35,003 Houston Astros 34,074 CENTRAL LEAGUE 33,102 Toronto Blue Jays 32,951 Chunichi Dragons (71) 32,839 Boston Red Sox 32,754 Yokohama BayStars (72) 32,735 Texas Rangers 32,688 San Francisco Giants 31,822 Los Angeles Angels 31,795 NATIONAL LEAGUE 31,553 Seattle Mariners 31,360 Colorado Rockies 31,323 Milwaukee Brewers 31,098 --- NIPPON PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL --- 30,270 Orix Buffaloes (71) 29,376 Hiroshima Carp (71) 29,374 -- MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL -- 28,912 Arizona Diamondbacks 28,830 Nippon-Ham Fighters (72) 28,757 New York Mets 28,162 Baltimore Orioles 28,153 Yakult Swallows (71) 28,121 PACIFIC LEAGUE 26,975 Lotte Marines (71) 26,950 AMERICAN LEAGUE 25,703 Cleveland Guardians (80) 24,990 Cincinnati Reds 24,288 Washington Nationals 24,094 Minnesota Twins 23,132 Rakuten Eagles (71) 22,942 Detroit Tigers 21,601 Seibu Lions (72) 21,239 Pittsburgh Pirates 20,473 Kansas City Royals 17,046 Chicago White Sox 16,515 Tampa Bay Rays 13,425 Miami Marlins 11,386 Oakland Athletics
CLIMAX SERIES - FIRST PHASE Best of three Games will end in ties after 12 innings. The league champions (Giants / Hawks) receive a bye directly to the Final Phase. The teams that finished in 2nd place in the league standings (Tigers / Fighters) will host all three games. The 3rd place teams (BayStars / Marines) must win two games to advance. CENTRAL LEAGUE Hanshin Tigers vs Yokohama BayStars Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture Tigers won season series 13-11-1 (5-4 at Koshien) Game 1 : Saturday 12 October, 14:00 Game 2 : Sunday 13 October, 14:00 Game 3 : Monday 14 October, 14:00 PACIFIC LEAGUE Nippon-Ham Fighters vs Lotte Marines Es Con Field Hokkaido in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido Fighters won season series 18-6-1 (9-3 at Es Con Field) Game 1 : Saturday 12 October, 14:00 Game 2 : Sunday 13 October, 14:00 Game 3 : Monday 14 October, 14:00
Saturday 12 October Game 1 probables Hanshin: Hiroto Saiki (13-3 , 1.83) Yokohama: Katsuki Azuma (13-4 , 2.16) Nippon-Ham: Takayuki Kato (10-9, 2.70) Lotte: Roki Sasaki (10-5, 2.35)
Roki Sasaki tossed 8 strong innings while solo home runs from Shogo Nakamura and Gregory Polanco provided the offense as the Lotte Marines took Game 1 of the Pacific League Climax Series with a 2-0 win over the Nippon-Ham Fighters at Es Con Field. Sasaki began and ended his afternoon with fastballs that clocked 157 kmh. In between, he leaned heavily on his slider while sitting 96-98 mph on the fastball and allowed just five hits and two walks while striking out 9 batters over 112 pitches in dominating the Fighters lineup. The Marines ace fireballer has now gone 17 post season innings in his career without giving up an earned run and demonstrated on Saturday why he continues to be the best pitcher currently in NPB. In NPB history of the First Phase of the Climax Series the team that won Game 1 advanced to the Final Phase 86% of the time (30 of 35). Still, since the Marines finished behind the Fighters in the PL standings they must win one of the two remaining games to advance as not even ties in Games 2 and 3 would not be enough despite having won on Saturday. A clutch two-run double by Tyler Austin in the 7th inning proved to be the difference as the Yokohama BayStars defeated the defending champion Hanshin Tigers 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the Central League Climax Series. Masayuki Kuwahara drove in Yokohama's first run in the 3rd with a fielder's choice grounder to short that scored Shugo Maki from third base. The Tigers rallied in the 9th with a run but BayStars reliever Kohei Morihara induced pinch hitter Fumihito Haraguchi to fly out to left with two runners on to preserve the key win. Historically, the BayStars are in a great position as the team that won Game 1 of the CL CS First Phase have advanced 14 of 16 times.
Sunday 13 October Game 2 Probables Hanshin: Haruto Takahashi (4-1, 1.52) Yokohama: Andre Jackson (8-7, 2.90) Nippon-Ham: Shoma Kanemura (7-6, 2.38) Lotte: Kazuya Ojima (12-10, 3.58)