Climax Series
2nd stage: Yakult Swallows vs Chunichi Dragons
The Dragons Hirokazu Ibata slammed a 2 run home run on Nov 6.
The Swallows batted in a run but stopped there, and so the Dragons winning its 3rd game
advanced to the Japan Series.
Tony Blanco hit in a run. Ryosuke Hirata hit home all on base. Blanco also slammed a homer. The Dragons won on Nov 5, 5 to 1.
On Nov 4 the Swallows won again.
The Swallows pinch hitter Yasushi Ihara homered. And with that the Swallows won 3 to 1 against the Dragons.
The Dragons Masahiko Morino batted well. He had 2 consecutive RBI hits to give his team a 2 to 1 win over the Swallows in the first game on Nov 2.
1st stage: Yakult Swallows vs Tokyo Giants
In the 3rd game on Oct 31,the Swallows Ryoji Aikawa homered off Dicky Gonzalez.
The Swallows had more runs batted in the beat the Giants 3 to 1, and
won the 1st stage.
The Giants scored first on Oct 31 with a homer by Shinnosuke Abe. In the 9th inning, the Giants led 2 to 1.With bases full, Yoshinobu Takahashi was called to pinch hit. He cleaned the bases. The Giants won 6 to 2.
Games for the first stage were held at Jingu Stadium for both Tokyo based teams. On Oct 29,starting for the Giants was surprisingly rookie Hirokazu Sawamura. The Giants Yoshinobu Takahashi hit off a hit from Shohei Tateyama. However the Swallows soon equalized the took the lead on Shinya Miyamoto's sacrifice fly. In the 9th inning, the Giants Saburo Ohmura homered. But it was not enought. The Swallows won 3 to 2.
October
The Giants played its final game at the Tokyo Dome on Oct 22. Hisayoshi Chono who leads
the league with his hitting average pinched hit in the 9th inning with bases loaded and his
team behind. He grand slammed. Also in that game Tetsuya Utsumi closed the game and earned his 18th win,
also for the league title.
The Dragons faced the BayStars on Oct 18. The game ended a tie. With that tie, the Dragons secured the season's league champion title. It's 2 years in a row. This despite the runner up Swallows victory against the Tigers that day.
From Oct 14 the Dragons played 3 games against the Giants. If the Dragons won a game, it would have clinched the league pennant. But the Giants Kazuhiro Sawamura hurled over the distance in the first game and won. Dicky Gonzalez pitched well in the next and won. Alex Ramirez contributed in the 3rd and won. The Swallows succumbed to its 5th loss in a row in the game against the Tigers on Oct 14. The Tigers played against the Carp from Oct 15 and lost the first, won the 2nd. The Swallows defeated the BayStars on Oct 15.
The top 2 teams faced eachother in 4 games from Oct 10. The Dragons clinched all of them. The Giants played against the Tigers 3 games. It lost the first, won the next two. The Carp won 2 of 3 games against the BayStars.
The Dragons faced the Giants from Oct 7. They tied in the first. Giants rookie Hirokazu Sawamura shut out the Dragons in the next game for the first time. On Oct 9, the Dragons clinched the game in the 10th inning. The Swallows fought against the Carp from Oct 7. It won the first putting a stop to its consecutive game lost at 3. The Swallows lost the next, and won the 3rd game. The Tigers won its 4th game in a row against the BayStars. But its ace closer Kyuji Fujikawa was battered in the next game and lost. It managed to win the game on Oct 9.
The Swallows played against the Tigers from Oct 4. It lost all 3 games. On the other hand, the Dragons won all 3 games against the Carp and replaced the Swallows for first place. The Giants lost the first 2 games to the BayStars, and won the 3rd on Alex Ramirez and Shinnosuke Abe's home runs.
The Swallows lost to the BayStars on Oct 1 and won the next day. The Dragons won both games against the Tigers. The Giants won the first game against the Carp, and tied in the 2nd.
FINAL LEAGUE STANDING
1. Chunichi Dragons
2. Yakult Swallows
3. Yomiuri Giants
4. Hanshin Tigers
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
September
The Swallows lost to the BayStars started by Daisuke Miura.
The Giants clobbered the Carp.
The Tigers losing streak ended with homers by Takahiro Arai and Craig Brazell against the Dragons.
The Tigers lost all 3 games to the Swallows from Sept 27. The Dragons won 2 and tied one against the Carp. The Giants won the first 2 games against the BayStars and lost the 3rd despite Yoshinobu Takahashi's home run.
From Sept 22, the Swallows faced the Dragons. In the first game the Dragons with catcher Motonobu Tanishige's won the game. Also on that day a surprise announcement that the Dragons skipper Hiromitsu Ochiai's contract will not be extended. The Dragons won the next 2 games, and on Sept 25, the Swallows finally won. The Giants tied against the Tigers on Sept 23, and each team won 1 of the next 2 games. The Carp won 2 of 3 games against the BayStars.
On Sept 20, the Giants Shinnosuke Abe homered twice to defeat the Swallows. The Dragons beat the BayStars. All games of the league were cancelled the next day due to a powerful typhoon hitting the main island.
The Swallows faced the BayStars from Sept 17, tied in the first, lost the 2nd and won the 3rd. The Giants lost the first and the 3rd games to the Dragons. The Carp ended its losing streak at 5 on Sept 17 against the Tigers. It lost the next to the Tigers Tomonori Kanemoto's 2 homers. But won on Sept 19.
The Swallows played against the Carp from Sept 13. It won its 9th game in a row on Sept 15 which was won by starter Shohei Tateyama who hurled over the distance. The Dragons clinched 2 of 3 games from the Tigers. THe Giants lost a competitive game against the BayStars on Sept 13, won the next, but lost on the 15th.
From Sept 9 the Swallows played against the Tigers and won all 3 games. The Giants lost the first to the Carp's Kenta Kurihara's 2 run homer. But the next 2 days the Giants won, including a game winning RBI by Yoshinobu Takahashi on Sept 11. The Dragons defeated the BayStars in all 3 games.
The Swallows defeated the BayStars in all 3 games from Sept 6. The Giants and the Dragons competed closely with the Giants winning the first, the Dragons clinching the 2nd and both tying in the 3rd. The Tigers defeated the Carp in all 3 games.
The Giants challenged the Swallows from Sept 2. The Swallows won the first two games, and the Giants won on Sept 4 with Alex Ramirez's 2 run and Hayato Sakamoto's homer. The Dragons Tony Blanco blasted a 3 run homer and closer Hitoki Iwase marked his 300th save against the Carp on Sept 3. The next day the Carp won with a 2 run home run by Kenta Kurihara. The BayStars defeated the Tigers on Sept 4 to end its losing streak at 6.
On Sept 1 the Swallows defeated the Carp with Kazuhiro Hatakeyama's 3 run home run. The Tigers and the Dragons tied.
League standing as of Sept 30
1. Yakult Swallows
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Yomiuri Giants
4. Hanshin Tigers
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
August
The Giants defeated the BayStars in 2 games from Aug 30 and rose to 2nd place.
The Swallows lost its 7th game in a row on Aug 31 to the Carp.
The Tigers won one and the Dragons won the other in their 2 games from Aug 30.
The Giants lost the first game to the Carp on Aug 26, won the next with Hisayoshi Chono's RBI hit, then the following day on Hayato Sakamoto's 2 RBI hit. The Tigers defeated the Swallows in 2 games. The Dragons Kazuki Yoshimi shut out the BayStars on Aug 27 and the team won the next day too.
The Swallows played against the Dragons from Aug 23. It won the first, tied the next and lost the 3rd. The Giants faced the Tigers in which it too won, lost and tied. The Carp won 2 of 3 games against the BayStars wearing its uniform from the 1980s.
The Giants faced the Swallows from Aug 19. The Giants won the first 2 games with contributions with the bat by Michihiro Ogasawara. It lost the 3rd to Wladmir Balentien's 2 run home run. The Dragons won the first 2 games against the Carp and tied in the 3rd. The Tigers Matt Murton and Craig Brazell homered on Aug 20 against the BayStars and tied the next day.
The Swallows Wladmir Balentien was in good shape in the games against the BayStars from Aug 16. In the first he slammed a 2 run home run to help his team win. His 3 run home run the next day kept the game a draw. In the 3rd game he helped his team win. The Giants sailed to 2nd place with its win over the Dragons on Aug 16. The next 2 days however, the Giants lost. The Tigers lost all 3 games against the Carp and dropped to 4th place while the Carp rose to 3rd.
From Aug 12 the Swallows faced the Tigers. It won only 1 of 3 games as Yoshinori Sato hurled over the distance on Aug 13. The Giants lost the first game against the Carp but won the next two, both on home runs by Shinnosuke Abe. The Dragons and the BayStars won a game each from Aug 13.
The Giants extended its winning streak with Alex Ramirez's 2 run homer and Yoshinobu Takahashi's against the BayStars on Aug 9, won on Shinnosuke Abe's 2 run homer the next day, and again on Aug 11. The Swallows lost the first agains the Carp, but the Swallows excelled the next 2 days. The Tigers won its 3rd game in a row, that's this time against the Dragons. That winning streak was ended the next day. The Tigers won another game to the Dragons on Aug 11.
On Aug 5, the Giants Yoshinobu Takahashi smashed a game tying 3 run homer and Michihiro Ogasawara's gave the Giants a defeat over the Carp. The Giants won the next 2 games too. The Swallows lost all 3 games to the Tigers. The Dragons won the first, the BayStars won the next 2 games
The Swallows played against the Dragons from Aug 2. It lost 2 games and tied one.
The Giants lost the first game against the Tigers. It won the next on Shigeyuki Furuki's home run.
Then in the 3rd, Giants starter Tetsuya Utsumi earned a league leading 11th win.
In the first game against the BayStars, the Carp's Kenta Maeda hurled a shut out game to win.
The Carp won the next 2 games and rose to 2nd place.
League standing as of Aug 31
1. Yakult Swallows
2. Yomiuri Giants
3. Chunichi Dragons
3. Hanshin Tigers
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
July
The Swallows faced the Giants from Jul 29.It won the first game but tied in the next 2.
The Carp won 2 of 3 games against the Dragons.
The Tigers tied once against the BayStars, lost the next to 3 home runs by Terrmel Sledge, and
was able to win the 3rd.
From Jul 26, after the all star break, the Swallows played against the Carp, lost the first game, won the next, and gave up the 3rd game to Kenta Kurihara's home run. The Tigers beat the Dragons the first 2 games, but had a shut out loss in the 3rd. The Giants lost the first to the BayStars and won the next two games including a lucky successful strike out, run to first by Josh Fields bringing in more runs.
The Giants Shinnosuke Abe contributed with a home run on Jul 19 and finished the game on Jul 20 against the Dragons. That day the Carps Tomonori Maeda helped his team win with 2 RBIs against the Tigers.
The Swallows faced the Giants from Jul 15. The Swallows won the first and lost the next 2 which included a 3 run homer by Shinnosuke Abe. The Tigers lost to Shuiichi Murata's homer on Jul 15 but won the next 2 games. The Dragons lost all 3 games to the Carp.
The Swallows won the first 2 games against the Dragons from Jul 12, and tied in the 3rd. The Tigers too beat the Giants in the first 2 games, and lost in the 3rd with RBIs by Yoshikazu Kamei and Saburo Ohmura. The Carps Kenta Maeda at last won his 4th game on Jul 14.
The Giants at last won. In fact it beat the Carp 3 games in a row from Jul 8. It included the first over the distance win by Hirokazu Sawamura. For the Carp it was its 4th loss in a row on Jul 10. The Dragons beat the BayStars in the first 2 games. On Jul 10, veteran pitcher 37 year old Daisuke Miura was back The Swallows won a game and lost a game against the Tigers.
The Swallows played the Giants from Jul 5. The Swallows clinched all 3 games. The Dragons won the first game against the Tigers on a game winning RBI by Kohei Oda. In the next game Masaaki Koike grandslammed to give the team another win. But on Jul 7, the Dragons lost in an 11 inning game. The Carp and the BayStars won a game each.
League standing as of July 31
1. Yakult Swallows
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
5. Yomiuri Giants
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
The Swallows on Jul 1 defeated the Carp on Derek Ballantyne's home run. The next day the Carp won on Kenta Kurihara's RBI. On Jul 3 the Swallows won. Just a day after joining the Giants, Saburo Ohmura formerly known as the Chiba Lotte Marines Saburo, pinch hit and he homered on Jul 1. But the team lost to the Dragons. The Giants won the next day on Hisayoshi Chono's RBI. But lost on the 3rd. The Tigers defeated the BayStars in all 3 games.
June
The Giants faced the Swallows from June 28.
It lost the first and equalized in the next 2.
The BayStars clobbered the Dragons in the first 2 games and lost the game on June 3.
The Tigers beat the Carp with a 2 run home run by Craig Brazell and a homer by Jason Standridge
but lost the next.
The games were back played in their respective leagues from June 24. The Swallows won its first game against the BayStars on Josh Whitesells's game winning home run. The Swallows won the 2nd game too, but lost the 3rd. The Carp's Tomonori Maeda contributed to his team"s win in the first and 3rd game against the Dragons. The Carp lost the 2nd game. The Giants lost the first 2 games against the Tigers. It managed to clinch the 3rd one with great hardship.
League standing as of June 30
1. Yakult Swallows
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Hanshin Tigers
4. Yomiuri Giants
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
May
The Swallows Wladmir Balentien blasted with 2 homers and 5 RBIs in all on May 13 to defeat the BayStars.
But the Swallows lost the next 2 games.
The Giants Alex Ramirez contributed on May 13 with a 2 run homer to defeat the Carp.
The next day, the Carp breezed ahead of the Giants in the end. On May 15. the Giants won on Hayato Sakamoto's
2 run home run.
The Dragons beat the Tigers in the first 2 gamws, but lost the final one.
The rain has prevented all games from being play from May 10. The Giants lost the first game to BayStars Takayuki Makka. Then in the 2nd game it lost to Bret Harper's home run. On May 12, the Giants won. The only other game played was on that day by the Tigers against the Carp, which Kenji Jojima contributed with 2 homers.
From May 6, the BayStars faced the Tigers and won all 3 games. The Giants won the first 2 games against the Dragons with Hayato Sakamoto's contribution with hits and a homerun. But on May 8 the Dragons won. The Carp defeated the Swallows on May 7 to tie for first place. And the ranks remained the same as the game the next day ended a draw.
The Swallows defeated the Dragons in 2 games from May 3. The Dragons fought back on May 5 with homers by Tony Blanco and Kazuhiro Wada. The Carps rookie from Waseda University, Yuya Fukui pitched well for his 2nd win in the game against the BayStars on May 3. The next day, the BayStars won. But on the 5th, the Carp won with Bryan Bullington earning his 4th win. The Giants played in its homeground, Tokyo Dome for the first time this season from May 3. It's by cutting power by 25 percent of the average. The Tigers Takashi Toritani, Takahiro Arai and Craig Brazell blasted homers consecutively to clinch the first game. In the next game, a relatively unknown Kazunari Sanematsu's RBI hit gave the Giants a win. On May 5, Michihiro Ogasawara recorded his 2000th base hit. But his team, the Giants lost.
The Swallows beat the Tigers on May 1 and the Tigers fell to 4th place. The Dragons instead rose to 3rd place by beating the Carp. The Giants beat the BayStars with Alex Ramirez's home run.
April
League standing as of Apr.30
1. Yakult Swallows
2. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
3. Hanshin Tigers
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Yomiuri Giants
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
The Tigers defeated the Swallows from Apr 29 in the first 2 games. Tne Carp with a relay of pitchers shut out the Dragons on Apr 29. The next day the Dragons won with a dramatic 3 run homer by Keiji Oyama who lost his grandfather in the Mar 11 tsunami. The Giants faced its 4th loss in a row on Apr 29 in the game against the BayStars. But that losing streak ended the next day with homers by Hayato Sakamoto and Alex Ramirez.
The Giants played against the Swallows in Shizuoka from Apr 26. The Swallows won all 3 games. The Carp faced the Tigers. The Carp won 2 games while 1 was rained out. The Dragons won on the 26 and 27 on homers by Tony Blanco. On Apr 28, the Dragons won again on Kazuhiro Wada's 2 run home run.
The Swallows continues to play in great shape from Apr 22 against the Carp. It won the first game, and tied the 2nd. In the game on Apr 24 it won on Kazuhiro Hatakeyama's 2 run home run. The Tigers on Apr 22 won on Takahiro Arai's game winning RBI against the BayStars. The next game was rained out. And in the game after that the BayStars won, to halt its losing streak at 5.
The Giants faced the Tigers in Koshien from Apr 19. In the 10th inning of the first game, the Tigers Takahahiro Arai hit himself on base. Then his brother Ryota finished the game with a hit. In the next game the Giants Hisayoshi Chono explosed with 4 base hits to help his team win. On Apr 21 the Giants Hirokazu Sawamura won his first game in which Alex Ramirez contributed with a 2 RBI hit. The Carp is in very good shape defeating the BayStars in all 3 games or marking its 6th win in a row on Apr 21. The Swallows too beat the Dragons in all 3 games or marking its 4th win in a row on Apr 21.
The Giants golden rookie Hirokazu Sawamura started on Apr 15 against the Carp. Alex Ramirez supported him with a 3 run home run. But the game finished a draw. The Giants, however lost the next 2 games. The Tigers Tomoaki Kanemoto's consecutive game record was abruptly ended at 1766 on Apr 15. He appeared as a pinch hitter to continue that record, but while he was at bat, his teammate tried to steal base and was touched out. It was the 3rd out. And Kanemoto did not come out to play on the field after that. The Tigers however beat the Dragons. The teams tied the next game. On Apr 17, the Dragons won on Kazuhiro Wada's RBI in the 10th inning. The BayStars Termmel Sledge slammed already his 5th homerun this season. Tatsuhiko Kinjo with a 3 run home run help his team beat the Swallows on Apr 15. The next day the teams finished a draw. The Swallows won on Apr 17.
The Giants played their opener on Apr 12 in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture rather that at the Tokyo Dome. That's because using the Tokyo Dome would require substantial electricity, not appropriate the this time of energy conservation as the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is in trouble and not operating. In the game against the Swallows, Shun Tono from Ibaraki or one of the areas hit by tsunami and massive quake started. He only gave up his first base hit in the 7th inning and thereafter was in trouble. Hayato Sakamoto hit in a run. Hisayoshi Chono slammed a 3 run homer to help the Giants win 9 to 2. The next game was played in Kitakyushu. Tetsuya Utsumi started for the Giants. He managed to keep the Swallows from scoring runs, while Alex Ramirez slammed his first home run, and so did Yoshinobu Takahashi to win 3 to 0. The Dragons played against the BayStars. In the first game, the Dragons Joel Guzman slammed a 3 run homer. With the game equalized, BayStars Yukio Naito finished the game with his RBI, 5 to 4. The Dragons won agains on Apr 13, despite the BayStars Termel Sledge's 3 home runs. On Apr 14, Brett Harper homered for the BayStars. Then Shuichi Murata came home from first. He also had an RBI and helped the team win 7 to 1. The Tigers Matt Murton started off the game with a homerun against the Carp for the opener. But the Carp hit in a run. Then the Tigers Takahiro Arai equalized with his RBI. And Tomoaki Kanemoto gave the team a win, in a game finished 7 to 4. Murton contributed in the next game to with a game winning RBI, and new foreign pitcher Jason Standridge earned a win. However in the 3rd game, the Carps Jun Hirose slammed a 2 run homer and Bryan Bullington won his first game.
LAST SEASON CHAMPION: Chunichi Dragons
Final league standing in 2010
1. Chunichi Dragons
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Yomiuri Giants
4. Yakult Swallows
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yokohama Bay Stars
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