Climax Series
2nd stage: Chunichi Dragons vs Tokyo Giants
The Dragons Kohei Oda hit 2 runs off the Giants starter Seth Greisinger.
The Giants had its first run batted in through a sacrifice fly by Michihiro Ogasawara in the
8th inning, then equalized.
However in the 9th inning, the Dragons Kazuhiro Wada hit in a run to clinch the game 4 to 3, and
won the ticket to the Japan Series.
It's the first time in 3 years the Dragons advances to the Japan Series.
Hideki Asai whom the Giants acquired during the middle of the season from the Golden Eagles started on Oct 22. He pitched 7 innings. However, after he was gone, the Dragons Kei Nomoto slammed a 2 run homerun to equalize. Then in the 9th inning, Shinnosuke Abe banged a homer. The Giants managed to win 3 to 2.
Tetsuya Utsumi started for the Giants on Oct 21. But with his teammates unable to hit in run, the Giants lost again 0 to 2.
The Giants starter Shun Tono was already in trouble in the first inning on Oct 20. It all started with Masahiko Morino batting in a run. He was followed by Tony Blanco's RBI hit. The Dragons starter Chen Wei-Ying pitched well until the 7th inning. And with a good relay of pitchers, the Dragons won 5 to 0. With a one game advantage, this is counted as the Dragons 2nd win of the 2nd stage.
1st stage: Hanshin Tigers vs Tokyo Giants
The Tigers on Oct 17 was the first to hit in a run again.
But then, Yoshinobu Takahashi slammed a 2 run home run.
And the Giants clinched the lead with Alex Ramirez's 2 RBI hit from the Tigers
ace closer Kyuji Fujikawa.
The Giants won 7 to 6 and advanced to the 2nd stage.
The games were hosted in Koshien Stadium, with the Tigers receiving strong support. And the Tigers had a good start in the first game on Oct 16 with Craig Brazell's home run. But the Giants Hayato Sakamoto homered too. And Michihiro Ogasawara hit in runs twice, giving the Giants a 3 to 1 win.
October
On Oct 8, the Giants had a good start with a 2 run homer by Alex Ramirez. But in the end it lost to the
Swallows and finished the season 3rd place.
On Oct 5, the Tigers Matt Murton achieved a feat. He hit this season's 211th hit, exceeding Ichiro Suzuki currently with the Seattle Mariners, Japan season's best record. His teammates blasted and defeated the Swallows. The Tigers beat the BayStars the next day, although Murton was not able to record more base hits.
The Tigers lost again on Oct 1, this time to the Carp. And the Dragons which didn't play again clinched the league pennant victory. The Tigers won the next 2 games against the Carp and rose to 2nd place.
FINAL LEAGUE STANDING
1. Chunichi Dragons
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Yomiuri Giants
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
September
The Tigers lost to the BayStars Shuichi Murata's 3 run home run on Sept 30.
The Dragons didn't play but rose to first place.
The Tigers lost to the Giants on Sept 28 falling to 3rd place, while the Giants became 2nd. However it was the other way around the next day with the Tigers beating the Giants.
A complicated situation for the pennant victory on Sept 26. The Giants lost to the BayStars despite Alex Ramirez's 2 homers. The Dragons lost to the Swallows. The Tigers did not play but if it wins 8 games, it can win the annual league title.
The Giants on Sept 21 clinched the game against the BayStars in the 12th inning on Hayato Sakamoto's home run. It won again the next day, and since the Tigers have been playing abadly again the Dragons replaced it for 2nd place. The Dragons remained on top.
The Dragons played against the Swallows from Sept 18 and lost 2 games. The Tigers clinched 2 games from the Giants. The Carp beat the BayStars in all 3 games.
From Sept 14, the Dragons played against the Carp and won 2 games. The Giants with its 5th win in a row on Sept 15, surged to 2nd place while the Tigers that day lost its 2nd game in a row falling to 3rd. But ranks were reversed the next day when the Giants lost to the Swallows and the Tigers beat the BayStars.
The Tigers fell to 2nd place on Sept 10 when it lost against the Swallows, and the Dragons beat the BayStars. The Dragons continued to defeat the BayStars in the next 2 games. The Giants blasted homers to defeat the Carp in all 3 games from Sept 10.
The Tigers played against the Dragons from Sept 7. It won one, lost one and tied in one. The Giants won a game against the BayStars from Sept 7 on Tetsuya Matsumoto's RBI hit. But lost on Sept 9. The Swallow won one and lost another against the Carp.
The Tigers won its 7th game in a row by beating the Carp on Sept 5. The Giants lost 2 games against the Dragons from Sept 4. One of them was shut out by Dragons 45 year old Masa Yamamoto The Giants fell to 3rd place.
The Giants tied against the Swallows on Sept 1. The Tigers and Dragons both won.
League standing as of September 30
1. Chunichi Dragons
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Yomiuri Giants
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
August
The Tigers on Aug 31 exploded defeating the BayStars.
Meanwhile the Giants lost to the Swallows. The Dragons beat the Carp.
On Aug 27, the Giants lost against the Carp, but the Tigers lost too, against the Swallows, so the Giants kept first place. But the Giants lost the next game too and the Tigers won to regain first place. The Tigers won the game on Aug 29 with Tomoaki Kanemoto, Kenji Johjima, Takashi Toritani and Craig Brazell blasting homers. The Giants kept close behind by winning a competitive game against the Carp. The BayStars beat the Dragons in 2 games.
The Giants played against the Dragons from Aug 24. It won the first game with a game winning home run by Michihiro Ogasawara. It lost the next day, however, and the Tigers beat the Carp in a 22 to 8 game. First place was replaced. But on Aug 26,the Giants won with 2 homers by Hayato Sakamoto and Alex Ramirez while the Tigers lost. Ranks were again reversed. The Swallows won 2 of 3 games against the BayStars.
The Giants came back strong playing against the Tigers from Aug 20. Maybe it had something to do with Shinnosuke Abe back with starting with the team. He homered in the first and the 2nd game. The Giants won all 3 games. The Dragons lost 2 of 3 games to the Swallows but still keeps close behind in 3rd place. The BayStars won 2 of 3 games against the Carp.
The Giants played against the Dragons from Aug 17. It lost all 3 games, and not only fell to 2nd place, but down to 3rd place with the Dragons surging to 2nd. The Tigers won all 3 games against the BayStars to win first place. The Swallows beat the Carp in 2 of 3 games.
The Giants beat the BayStars in 2 games from Aug 13, in both of which Hayato Sakamoto, Michihiro Ogasawara homered. The Tigers lost the first game against the Swallows falling to 2nd place and the next day managed to stop the Swallows consecutive game win at 10. The Giants lost to the BayStars Shuichi Murata's 2 homers on Aug 15. The Tigers beat the Swallows that day in a see saw game. The Dragons meanwhile defeated the Carp in all 3 games from Aug 13.
From Aug 10, the Giants lost all 3 games against the Swallows. The Tigers lost the first against the Carp, didn't play the next, and won on Aug 12, to replace the Giants for first place. The BayStars won the first to games against the Dragons and on Aug 12, was defeated by Masahiko Morino's home run.
The Giants lost the first 2 games against the Carp from Aug 6. The Tigers lost all 3 against the Dragons.
The top 2 teams faced eachother from Aug 3. The Giants beat the Tigers in the first game with homers by Michihiro Ogasawara and Shinnosuke Abe and returned to first place. But the next day the Tigers won with a 3 run home run by Keiichi Hirano to regain the first spot. Then on Aug 5, The Giants Yoshinobu Takahashi's 3 run home run and Hisayoshi Chono homerun helped the team return to first place. The Swallows won all 3 games against the Dragons. The Carp won 2 of 3 games against the BayStars.
On Aug 1, the Giants blasted against the Carp and one. But the Tigers won too against the Dragons keeping first place. The BayStars beat the Swallows.
League standing as of August 31
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Yomiuri Giants
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
July
On July 30, the Giants won on a grand slam by Edgar Gonzales, and the next day,
Alex Ramirez amd Ryota Wakiya both blasted 2 run homers to again defeat the Carp.
The Tigers meanwhile beat the Dragons in the first game, but tied in the next game.
On Jul 30 the BayStars beat the Swallows.
The Giants played against the Dragons in its first series after the all star break on Jul 27. It lost to Masahiko Morino's 2 run home run, and since the Tigers won its first game against the BayStars with 2 homers by Craig Brazell, the Tigers rose to first replacing the Giants. On Jul 28, the Giants won in the 11th inning on Hayato Sakamoto's 3 run homer, and the Tigers won too so rankings remained the same as the previous day. On Jul 29 the Giants lost while the Tigers didn't play. The Swallows meanwhile won all 3 games against the Carp.
The Giants played the Swallows from Jul 19. In the first game, Hisayoshi Chono slammed a 3 run home run. Then another RBI to help his team win. The Giants won the next game in the 10th inning on Hayato Sakamoto's RBI. But lost on Jul 21. The Tigers, won its 4th straight game on Jul 20 in the game against the Carp. It lost though on Jul 21, unable to rise to first place. The Dragons continue to perform fabulously well, shutting out the BayStars in 2 games and winning also on Jul 21.
The Giants lost to the BayStars on Jul 17, and on 18, it was a devastating loss to Brett Harper's grand slam. The Tigers beat the Swallows on both days. The Dragons shut out the Carp in 2 games.
From Jul 13, the Giants played only 1 game against the Tigers as games scheduled on following days were rained out. In that game the Giants managed to win in the 12th inning. The Carp won 2 of 3 games against the BayStars. The Swallows won 2 games against the Dragons.
The Giants played against the Dragons from Jul 9 and lost all 3 games. In fact, the game on Jul 11 was its 4th loss in a row. The Tigers meanwhile won on Jul 9, lost the next day, then won again against the BayStars. The Swallows marked its 3rd straight win on Jul 11 in the game against the Carp.
On Jul 6, the Giants won a see saw game on Alex Ramirez's 2 run home run against the Carp in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. The next day the Gianst lost to Ken Maeda. The Tigers beat the Swallows in 2 days from Jul 6, but on Jul 8 it lost to Kazuhiro Hatakeyama's grandslam. The Dragons managed to win with Kazuhiro Wada's home run on Jul 6 against the Bay Stars. On Jul 8 the BayStars Shuichi Murata slammed 2 home runs and helped his team beat the Dragons.
From Jul 2 the Giants lost the first 2 games against the Tigers. On Jul 4 it managed to win with 2 homers by Yoshinobu Takahashi. The Carp won 2 games it played against the BayStars. The Swallows beat the Dragons with Josh Whitesell's 2 RBI hit on Jul 3. And the following day the Dragons won.
On Jul 1 the Carp's starter Kenta Maeda hurled over the distance against the Giants to earn his 10th win. The Tigers beat the Dragons with a home run by Kenji Jojima
League standing as of July 31
1. Hanshin Tigers
2. Yomiuri Giants
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
June
The Giants Alex Ramirez blasted on June 29 with 3 homers to defeat the Carp.
The Giants won again the next day.
On June 29, the Tigers Craig Brazell homered 3 times too and gave his team a victory over the Dragons.
But the next day the Tigers lost to the Dragons Kazuhiro Wada's RBIs.
The Swallows marked its 4th win in a row defeating the BayStars on June 30.
The Giants from June 25 won the first 2 games against the BayStars. But was held by new starter Chris Bootcheck and lost on June 27. The Dragons beat the Carp in all 3 games. The Swallows beat the Tigers in 2 games, and contributing with the bat is newcomer Josh Whitesell.
The Giants lost to the Swallows in 2 games from June 22 despite Shinnosuke Abe's home runs in both games. On June 24, the Giants won with 2 homers by Alex Ramirez. The Tigers beat the Carp in the 11th inning on June 22 and won the next day too. The Dragons won the first 2 game with homers in both games by Masahiko Morino and Kazuhiro Wada against the BayStars, but not the game on the 24th.
On June 18, the teams were back playing in their leagues. The Giants Tetsuya Utsumi shut out the Dragons in the first game. In the 3 games against the Dragons, Shinnosuke Abe homered in all, but failed to help his team win in the 2nd game. On June 19, the Tigers Takahiro Arai and Craig Brazell both homered to help the team beat the BayStars. However the next day the Tigers lost to Seiichi Uchikawa's 2 run home run. The Swallows defeated the Carp on June 20.
League standing as of June 30
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
May
The Giants played the BayStars 2 games from May 8 and defeated them in both.
The Tigers Kenji Jojima grand slammed on May 7 and beat the Carp. The next day the Carp won.
Then on May 9 the Tigers won with 2 homers by Craig Brazell.
The Dragons beat the Swallows on May 7 and 8 with a game winning RBI.
The Swallows finally ended its losing streak at 6 on May 9.
The Giants are back on track from May 3. It returned to first place on Ryota Wakiya's grand slam, and beat the Swallows. The Giants also won the next 2 games. On May 5, it blasted with homeruns by Alex Ramirez, Lee Seung-Yeop, Hayato Sakamoto, Michihiro Ogasawara and Shinnosuke Abe. The Tigers from May 3 lost the first 2 games to the Dragons and won the last with a 3 run home run by Takahiro Arai. The Carps starting pitcher Kenta Maeda won his 5th game, in the game against the BayStars on May 3. The BayStars clinched the next 2 games.
The Tigers won its 5th game in a row by defeating the Giants on May 2, and replaced the Giants for first place. The Swallows losing stread ended at 5 on May 1 in the game against the BayStars, but lost the next day in which the Tomokazu Ohka won his first game in Japan in 16 years since coming back from the US. The Dragons Kazuhiro Wada's 2 home runs helped his team beat the Carp on May 1. But the next day the Carp won on Akihiro Higashide's game winning RBI.
League standing as of May 31
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yokohama Bay Stars
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yakult Swallows
April
On Apr 30, the Tigers Takashi Toritani swung a game winning RBI to defeat the Giants.
The Carp's Soichiro Amaya blasted a grand slam and Takahiro Aoki recorded his
first shut out game against the Dragons.
That BayStars beat the Swallows.
The Giants on Apr 27 improved its winning streak to 6 against the Dragons with a 3 run homer by Alex Ramirez. The next day it lost but was back on track on Apr 29. The Carp was out of the woods only on Apr 27, and lost 2 games in a row thereafter against the BayStars. The Tigers won 2 games against the Swallows from Apr 28.
The Giants clinched its 3rd win in a row on Apr 23 playing against the Carp. On the 24th the 2 teams dedicated the game to Takuya Kimura who passed away earlier this month. He played for both teams, and died as the Giants coach. Kimura's son hurled the ceremonial pitch. Yoshitomo Tani who's the same age as Kimura slammed a grand slam to give the Giants a win. The next day the Gianst won again with homers by Michihiro Ogasawara and Yoshinobu Takahashi. The Tigers Takahiro Arai hit in 3 runs inn the game against the Dragons on Apr 23. Arai was super again the following day taking the Tigers to a victory. But on Apr 25, the Dragons won. On Apr 23, the Swallows Masato Nakazawa marked his first shut out victory. It's against the BayStars. However the next 2 games, the BayStars won.
The Giants defeated the BayStars in 2 games from Apr 20. The Tigers Keisuke Kano slammed a 3 run homer to help his team defeat the Carp on Apr 20. The next day the Carp's Tetsuya Kokubo homered a 2 run to defeat the Tigers. The Dragons won 2 games and tied one against the Swallows.
The Carp's Tomonori Maeda took his team to a victory in the final inning with his RBI hit against the Dragons on Apr 16. It defeated the Dragons the next 2 days too. The Giants won on Apr 17 against the Swallows but lost the following day. Terrmel Sledge homered twice for the BayStars on Apr 17 and beat the Tigers. The next day, the Tigers won. But what was devastating news for fans was Tomonori Kanemoto was unable to play fulling inning to stop his consecutive record at bat at 1492 games. The team defeated the Dragons.
The Giants played the Tigers from Apr 13. It lost 2 straight games, but won on Apr 15 with Hayato Sakamoto's grand slam, and starter Tetsuya Utsumi winning his 4th straight game. The BayStars defeat the Dragons in the first 2 games, but lost the 3rd. The Carp won 2 straight games for the first time this season. It's against the Swallows. But was unable to win again on Apr 15 despite good pitching by Kenta Maeda.
From Apr 9 the Giants faced the Dragons. It lost the first game, but won the next 2 in which both games Michihiro Ogasawara and Alex Ramirez greatly contributed. The Swallows Aaron Guiel slammed a 3 run homer on Apr 9 against the Tigers. The next day it was the Tigers Kenji Johjima who grandslammed to defeat the Swallows. The Tigers won on Apr 11 with homers by Tomoaki Kanemoto and Craig Brazell. The BayStars won 2 of 3 games agains the Carp.
The Giants went from Hiroshima to Koshien and played against the Tigers from Apr 6. It lost the first game to 2 run homers by Takahiro Arai and Tomoaki Kanemura. The next day, Japan's baseball fan was in mourning. Giants coach Takuya Kimura passed away. Flags were hoisted half mast. The Giants beat the Tigers with Michihiro Ogasawara's 2 run home run. The Giants won on Apr 8 too on Alex Ramirez and rookie Hisayoshi Chono's 3 run homers. The Dragons won its 6th straight game on Apr 7 defeating the BayStars, but lost the next day. The Carp ended its losing streak at 7 on Apr 6, by beating the Swallows. The next day, the Swallows Jamie D'Antona blasted with an RBI hit and then a grand slam. The Carp won on Apr 8 with its pitcher Kenta Maeda contributing with the bat as well.
A disaster for the Giants on Apr 2. Coach Takuya Kimura suddenly collapsed during practice in Hiroshima. He was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage Alex Ramirez exploded that day with 2 homers to defeat the Carp. The Giants won the next 2 days too, including with a homer by rookie Hisayoshi Chono. The Dragons too won all 3 games from Apr 2 against the Tigers. The Swallows Tony Barnette won his first game with the team on Apr 2 in the game againt the BayStars.
On Apr 1, Alex Ramirez grand slammed and helped the Giants beat the BayStars. Pitcher Tetsuya Utsumi already won his 2nd game. The Dragons beat the Swallows with Masaaki Koike's 2 run home run.
League standing as of April 30
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Yokohama Bay Stars
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yakult Swallows
March
On Mar 30, the Swallows first time starting pitcher 25 year old Masato Nakazawa won the game against
the Dragons. The next day the Dragons lost to Jamie D'Antona's 2 homers.
The Tigers Craig Brazell homered twice on Mar 30 helping his team beat the Carp.
The next day Tomoaki Kanemoto homered a 2 run for the Tigers and won.
The Giants on Mar 30 managed to beat the BayStars but lost the next day to Terrmel Sledge's
game winning 3 run home run.
The Giants starting pitcher for the opener on Mar 26, Tetsuya Utsumi pitched well. And supporting him, Yoshinobu Takahashi who joined the starting line up for the first time in more than 200 days. He hit in the teams first run. The Giants beat the Swallows 4 to 1. The BayStars slugger Shuichi Murata homered. The Tigers with its new power hitter Kenji Jojima who played for the Seattle Mariners exceeded with RBIs and beat the BayStars 7 to 3. The Carps starting pitcher Kenta Maeda not only pitched well. He hit in a run. The Carp beat the Dragons 3 to 1. The Giants lost the next 2 games to the Swallows. The Tigers on Mar 27 won on Kenji Johjima's home run in the 11th inning. But it lost the next day to the BayStars. That was the BayStars, and for new manager Takao Obana's first win. On Mar 27, the Dragons Chen Wei-Yng shut out the Carp and the Dragons won the next day too.
League standing as of March 31
1. Yakult Swallows
1. Hanshin Tigers
3. Yomiuri Giants
3. Chunichi Dragons
3. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
LAST SEASON CHAMPION: YOMIURI GIANTS
Final league standing in 2009
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Yakult Swallows
4. Hanshin Tigers
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
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