2006 SEASON IN THE PACIFIC LEAGUE

Play offs 2nd stage: Hawks vs Fighters
* October 12 at Sapporo Dome
It was a competitive game. Starting for the Lions, rookie Tomoya Yagi, and for the Hawks Kazumi Saito. In the 9th inning, with runners on first and 2nd, Atsunori Inaba hit the ball, and it appeared the runner would be killed on 2nd. But no. Michihiro Ogaawara survived. And Hichori Morimoto came home. The Fighters clinched the play offs with the 1 to 0 victory.

* October 11 at Sapporo Dome
The Fighters starter Yu Darvish gave up a run in the first inning. But Tsuyoshi Shinjo hit in an RBI in the 3rd to give his team a lead. In the end, the Fighters won 3 to 1.

Play offs 1st stage: Lions vs Hawks
* October 9 at Invoice Stadium
In the 5th inning, the Lions Takeya Nakamura homered to break the ice. But the Hawks caught up in the 7th inning. Then in the 8th inning, Julio Zuleta slammed a 3 run home run. The Hawks won 6 to 1, and advanced to the 2nd stage. Michiyo's Note: After the game, Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Lions greeted the crowd. It's believed to mean he was bidding farewell, as there are rumours the N.Y. Yankees are trying to acquire him.

* October 8 at Invoice Stadium
This time,the Hawks line-up blasted. The league's leading hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka slammed a 3 run home run aside from 2 more RBIs. The Hawks beat the Lions 11 to 3.

* October 7 at Invoice Stadium
The Hawks Kazumi Saito was pitching well. But he gave up a run to the Lions Kazuhiro Wada. And as the Lions starter Daisuke Matsuzaka was pitching even better, the game ended 1 to 0 for the Lions.

October
The Golden Eagles thanked the fans in its final game of the season on Oct 1, and announced that catcher Katsunori Nomura, the skipper's son, and Tetsuya Iida is retiring. But the team lost 1 to 3 to the Marines.

September
The Fighters won against the Hawks on Sept 26, and the next day too. With that win, it clinched its season victory. The Lions lost to the Marines on Sept 26, while it managed to win the next day. The Blue Wave, on Sept 26, beat the Golden Eagles 4 to 1. The Golden Eagles won the next day.

The Lions lost to the Golden Eagles 0 to 1 on Sept 22. It won the next day, but lost again on Sept 24. The Marines defeated the Fighters on Sept 23, and the next day Benny Agbayani's grand slammed helped the Marines win again. On Sept 23,the Buffaloes beat the Hawks 5 to 4 and won again the next day with Makoto Shiozaki's 3 run home run.

The Fighters beat the Golden Eagles on Sept 18, and surged to first place in the league. It won the next day too. The Hawks Julio Zuleta homered 3 times to help his team win 9 to 2 against the Lions on Sept 18. The Lions fell to 2nd place. The next day, the Hawks faced defeat before Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Marines beat the Buffaloes on Sept 18 but lost the next day.

The Fighters continue to play well. On Sept 16, Michihiro Ogasawara's 2 run got the team going with a 2 run home run to defeat the Marines 12 to 1 and won again the next day. The Hawks tied with the Golden Eagles on Sept 16 and fell to 3rd place. The Lions lost to the Buffaloes despite Alex Cabrera's out-of-the stadium home run on Sept 16 but won the next day.

The Fighters Atsunori Inaba smashed a 3 run home run for his team's 6 to 5 win over the Lions on Sept 12. The next day the Lions Daisuke Matsuzaka shut out the Fighters. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his first game in about a year on Sept 12. It's in a game against the Marines. However, the Golden Eagles lost the next day. The Hawks beat the Buffaloes on Sept 12, 5 to 3.

The Fighters Michihiro Ogasawara blasted a 2 run home run to take his team to a 5 to 2 win over the Buffaloes on Sept 8.Fernando Seguignol homered twice the next day for his team's win. On Sept 10, Tsuyoshi Shinjo homered and with the win, the Fighters secured its place in the playoffs. The Lions clinched its 4th win in a row beating the Golden Eagles 4 to 1 on Sept 8. The Lions won again the next day, to secure its place in the playoffs. But it lost on Sept 10. The Hawks, on Sept 9 clinched its place in the playoffs defeating the Marines 4 to 1. The team won the next day too on Kazumi Saito's shut out victory. It's his league leading 17th win.

The Lions kept first place on Sept 5 defeating the Marines and won again the next day. The Fighters clinched the game against the Hawks with Michihiro Ogasawara's 3 run homer on Sept 5. But the next day, the Hawks Tsutomu Wada shut out his opponent for his team's win. But on Sept 7, the Fighter won. The Golden Eagles and the Buffaloes ended a draw on Sept 5. The next day, the Golden Eagles won on Jose Fernandez's home run.

The Hawks clobbered the Golden Eagles in the 10th inning to win 9 to 2 on Sept 1. It won again on Kazumi Saitoh's good pitch and surged to 1st place, but lost on Sept 3. The Lions lost to the Fighters on Sept 2, forcing it to fall to 2nd place. It won the next day. On Sept 2, Kazuhiro Kiyohara homered for the Buffaloes, but the Marines won 11 to 6. The next day the Marines lost.

League standing as of end of Sept
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Seibu LionsBR 3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Chiba Lotte Marines
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles

August
On Aug 29 the Buffaloes defeated the Lions with Kazuhiro Kiyohara's game winning homer. But the next day, the Buffaloes were silenced by the Lions ace pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Hawks Nagisa Arakaki shut out the Marines in a 12 to 0 game on Aug 29. The Hawks won again the next day. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma pitched for the first time this season on Aug 29. His team defeated the Fighters 6 to 4, @ The Fighters wont the next 2 days.

In the only game of the league on Aug 25, the Marines and the Golden Eagles finished a draw. The next day the Golden Eagles won in the 11th inning on Takeshi Yamasaki's homer. On Aug 27, the Marines won 7 to 3 even though the Golden Eagles Yamasaki homered again. On Aug 26, the top 2 teams faced eachother. The Hawks Julio Zuleta grand slammed for his team's 8 to 5 win over the Lions. The next day, the Lions won. The Fighters continue to do well. It won on Aug 26 against the Buffaloes 1 to 0, and again won on Aug 27 with contributions by Fernando Seguignol.

The Lions Alex Cabrera slammed a 2 run home run on Aug 22, and helped his team win 10 to 2 over the Marines. The Lions Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out 12 for his 13th win on Aug 23. But the Lions lost the next day to the Marines Benny Agbayani's homers and hits. The Hawks Nagisa Arakaki pitched well, and his team defeated the Buffaloes 1 to 0 on Aug 22. The Hawks won the next day too, but lost on Aug 24 due to bad fielding. The Fighters slammed a series of home runs, including 2 runs by Michihiro Ogasawara and Tsuyoshi Shinjo to beat the Golden Eagles 10 to 3 on Aug 22.It won the next 2 games too.

The Hawks defeated the Lions on Aug 18 and tied for first place. But the next day, it lost and returned to 2nd place. On Aug 20, the Lions beat the Hawks, 3 to 2. The Fighters lost to the Marines on Aug 18. The Marines closer Masahide Kobayashi recorded his career 200th save. The next 2 days the Fighters won. The Golden Eagles beat the Buffaloes despite Kazuhiro Kiyohara's home run on Aug 18. It won again the next 2 days.

The Fighters rising star, Hichori Morimoto slammed a 3 run home run for his team's 5 to 3 win over the Lions on Aug 15. But the next day the Lions won, as Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched well to clinch his 12th win. The Hawks, on Aug 15 beat the Golden Eagles 6 to 3, but tied the next day. On Aug 17, it lost 2 to 4. The Blue Wave defeated the Marines on Aug 15, but the Marines managed to win the next 2 days.

On Aug 11, the Golden Eagles' Jose Fernandez's 3 run home run helped his team defeat the Lions 6 to 5. The next 2 days, the Lions won. The Hawks on Aug 11 beat the Buffaloes 2 to 0 then again the next day 5 to 2. But the teams tied on Aug 13. On Aug 12 and Aug 13, the Fighters beat the Marines.

The Buffaloes Kazuhiro Kiyohara slammed a 2 run home run, but his team lost to the Lions 3 to 4 on Aug 8. The Buffaloes won again the next day on Yoshitomo Tani's RBI hit, 6 to 5. But it lost on Aug 10 1 to 11. The Hawks on Aug 8 was unable to hit in a run against the Fighters to lose 0 to 7. But the next day, it clinched the game 5 to 3 with Nobuhiko Matsunaka's hit. It won again on Aug 9, 1 to 0. The Marines beat the Golden Eagles on Aug 7 and 8. The Golden Eagles succumbed to its 7th loss in a row.

The Hawks beat the Marines while the Lions lost to the Fighters 5 to 9 on Aug 4, so the Hawks surged to first place. The next day, however, the Lions won while the Hawks lost so they changed places. On Aug 6, the Lions beat the Fighter 9 to 3. The Hawks lost to the Marines 0 to 1. On Aug 5 the Golden Eagles Takeshi Yamasaki blasted a 3 run homer, his career 250th, but his team lost to the Buffaloes 4 to 11. The Golden Eagles lost the next day 2 to 6.

The Lions Takumi Kuriyama's 3-run home run gave his team 6 to 1 win over the Marines on Aug 1. The Marines won the next day on Saburo's home run, 3 to 1. On Aug 3, the Lions Alex Cabrera slammed a 3 run for a 6 to 2 win. The Hawks beat the Golden Eagles with a series of base hit. It's 8 to 4 on Aug 1. And the team won against the next day 4 to 1. Starter Tsuyoshi Wada earned his 10th win. The Fighters defeated the Buffaloes in 2 games in a row from Aug 1. On Aug 3, Kazuhiro Kiyohara's 3 run homer helped the Buffaloes win 3 to 0.

League standing as of end of August
1.Seibu LionsBR 2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Nippon Ham Fighters
4.Chiba Lotte Marines
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles

July
The Marines losing streak ended at 5 on Jul 28, defeating the Buffaloes in the 12th inning. It won the next day too, but lost on Jul 30, 1 to 2. The Hawks defeated the Fighters on Jul 29,but lost on Jul 30. The Golden Eagles Takeshi Yamasaki grand slammed for his team's 5 to 3 win over the Lions on Jul 28. The Lions won the next day in the 11th inning, 4 to 3.

The Buffaloes slammed the most number of base hits this season to defeat the Lions 13 to 6 after the all star break on Jul 25. But the Lions won the next day 4 to 1. The Hawks defeated the Marines on both Jul 25 and 26. On Jul 27, it was on Julio Zuleta's 2 run. The Fighters clinched a 12-inning game from the Golden Eagles on Jul 26. It won again the next day 4 to 0.

The Hawks lost to the Lions on Jul 17. But good news for the Hawks. Manager Sadaharu Oh's surgery was reported successful. He removed his stomach infected with cancer. The next day, the Hawks reversed the game it was losint to win 9 to 5. On Jul 19, the Hawks lost 1 to 3. The Buffaloes Norihiro Nakamura hit in 3 runs and helped his team defeat the Fighter 5 to 1 on Jul 17. The Fighters won the following day on Tsuyoshi Shinjo's RBI, 5 to 4. The Golden Eagles Jose Fernandez contributed with a 3 run home run to beat the Marines 4 to 0 on Jul 17.

The Buffaloes defeated the Golden Eagles on Norihiro Nakamura's 2 homers, on Jul 14. The next day, the Buffaloes lost and the Golden Eagles losing streak ended at 9. The Buffaloes defeated the Golden Eagles on Jul 16. The Hawks on Jul 15 lost to the Fighters, Yu Darvish, but the Hawks Hayato Terahara shut out the Fighters the next day. On Jul 15, the Marines hit a game winning hit off the Lions Daisuke Matsuzaka. The next day the Lions clinched the game in the 12th inning.

The Lions clinched a 10 inning game from the Golden Eagles on Jul 11, 7 to 6. It won the next day too, as Akira Eto slammed a 2 run homer. It's 8 to 2. The Hawks Tsutomu Wada shut out the Buffaloes in a 6 to 0 game on Jul 11. The Hawks won again on Julio Zuleta's home run. It's 4 to 1. On Jul 13, the Buffaloes Kazuhiro Kiyohara's walk paved the way for his team's win 5 to 2. The Marines Saburo's 3 run home run contributed his team's 4 to 3 win over the Fighters on Jul 11. But the next day the Marines lot as the Fighters Michihiro Ogasawara blasted 2 homers.

The Fighters extended its winning streak to 11 on Jul 7 in which starting pitcher Yu Darvish contributed, wearing teammate Yagi's uniform. But the record ended the next day when it lost to the Lions 2 to 3 and lost again on Jul 9. The Hawks won its first game since manager Sadaharu Oh left the team for medical treatment on Jul 8. It's 9 to 1 to the Golden Eagles. On July 9 the Buffaloes Norihiro Nakamura helped his team with an RBI hit to win 4 to 1 over the Marines.

The Fighters won on July 4 on Michihiro Ogasawara's 2 run home run and Tsuyoshi Shinjo's RBI hit over the Buffaloes 7 to 3,then again the next day for its 9th win in a row in a 4 to 0 game, and won its 10th game in a row on Jul 6. The Marines Benny Agbayani and Koichi Hori homered for the team's 4 to 3 win over the Golden Eagles on Jul 4. The Lions beat the Hawks on the same day 8 to 10. On Jul 5, it was a draw. Sadaharu Oh made a surprise announcement after the game that he will have to leave his team for an indefinite time as he has to go to Tokyo for a surgery.

The Marines halted its losing streak at 6 on Jul 1,defeating the Hawks 7 to 3. But it lost the next day 7 to 10 and fell to 4th place. The Fighters Fernando Seguignol homered and his team won 2 to 0 against the Golden Eagles on Jul 1. It won again the next day on Tsuyoshi Shinjo's run home run. It's 8 to 1. The Lions, on Jul 1 beat the Buffaloes 8 to 3 and won again the following day 11 to 3.

League standing as of end of July
1.Seibu LionsBR 2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Nippon Ham Fighters
4.Chiba Lotte Marines
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles

June
The Hawks Kazumi Saito earned his 10th win in a 7 to 2 game against the Marines, and his team rose to the top of the league on June 30. The Lions lost 1 to 7 to the Buffaloes. The Fighters Kensuke Tanaka slammed a game winning home run for his team's 2 to 1 win over the Golden Eagles.

The Hawks won on both June 27 and 28 against the Buffaloes. The Lions Alex Cabrera blasted his 20th home run on June 27 and helped his team win 7 to 3 over the Golden Eagles. However, the Golden Eagles won the next day 4 to 1. The Marines lost its 5th game in a row on June 28.

With the interleague over, regular matches were held from June 23. In the only Pacific League that day, the Hawks beat the Golden Eagles 5 to 1. Julio Zuleta homered.The next day, the Golden Eagles won 1 to 0. But the Hawks won the day after 4 to 3. Michihiro Ogasawara broke the tie to help the Fighters defeat the Buffaloes 4 to 3 on June 24. The Lions beat the Marines 4 to 3 the same day and won the next day too 7 to 2.

League standing as of end of June
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Seibu Lions
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Nippon Ham Fighters
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles

May
The Lions beat the Hakws on May 5, 7 to 5, but the next day lost to Julio Zuleta's 2 home runs 3 to 11 and hits by Zuleta on May 7, 3 to 7. The Marines were clobbered by the Buffaloes 1 to 10 on May 5, and lost the next 2 days too. The Fighters won 3 games in a row against the Golden Eagles.

The Lions Akira Eto had a 3 run home run and hit in 2 more runs for his team's 9 to 3 win over the Fighters on May 2. The Lions won the next game, but lost on May 4 to Michihiro Ogawara's home run and RBI hit. The Marines defeated the Hawks 6 to 4 on May 2, but the next day Tsuyoshi Wada shut out the Marines. The Marines won on May 4. The Buffaloes won 1 to 0 over the Golden Eagles on May 2, but lost the next 2 games.

League standing as of end of May
1.Chiba Lotte Marines
2.Seibu Lions Orix Buffaloes
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Nippon Ham Fighters
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles

April
The Buffaloes Norihiro Nakamura's 3 run home run on Apr 28 was not enough as Alex Cabrera's grand slam took the Lions 8 to 6 win. The Buffaloes however overwhelmed the Lions the next 2 days. The Hawks Munenori Kawasaki blasted a 3 run homerun for his team's 3 to 1 win over the Fighters on Apr 28.The Hawks lost the next day, but won the day after. The Marines defeated the Golden Eagles for 3 games in a row until Apr 30.

On Apr 25, the Marines beat the Buffaloes 1 to 0. The next day the Buffaloes extended it consecutive loss to 4. The Hawks Nagisa Arakaki struck out 13 to win his 5th game on Apr 25. It's against the Golden Eagles, 11 to 3. It won again on Apr 26, 4 to 1. But the next day, the Golden Eagles won 7 to 3. The Lions beat the Fighters 2 to 1 on Apr 25 and again won the following day.

WBC star Munenori Kawasaki was back on Apr 21 with the Hawks after hurting his hand at the WBC. He contributed with RBI hits but the Buffaloes in the end won 4 to 3. The next 2 games, the Hawks won. On Apr 21, the Lions Daisuke Matsuzaka earned his 3rd win in a 11 to 1 game against the Golden Eagles. The next day the Golden Eagles won with newcomer Teppei's home run. On Apr 23, the Lions Hideaki Wakui shut out the Golden Eagles. The Fighters defeated the Marines 4 to 2 on Apr 21.The next day the Marines won while on Apr 23, the Fighters clinched the game.

A shocker for Tsuyoshi Shinjo fans. On Apr 18, Shinjo announced he was retiring the end of the season. This announcement came after he homered twice including a grand slam to take his team to a 10 to 4 win over the Buffaloes. The next day too, Shinjo homered and his team won 6 to 3. But on Apr 20, the Buffaloes won 6 to 5. The Hawks Nagisa Arakaki earned his 4th win already on Apr 18, in a 5 to 3 game against the Lions with a 3 run home run by Norihiro Nakamura. But the Lions won the next day on Alex Cabrera's 2 run home run. The Marines beat the Golden Eagles 8 to 3 on Apr 18 and again the next day 17 to 2.

The Lions Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out 13 on Apr 14 and hurled over a distance in a 2 to 1 game against the Marines. But the Lions lost the next day 5 to 14 and the following day too to Benny Agbayani and Toshiaki Imae's home runs. The Buffaloes clobbered the Golden Eagles on Apr 14, 10 to 2, including Kazuhiro Kiyohara's first home run of the season. On Apr 16, the Golden Eagles won 7 to 6. A disaster for the Hawks on that day. Julio Zuleta hit the Fighters Satoru Kanemura violently with his fist after he was hit by a pitch. Zuleta was punished later with a 10 day suspension. The Fighters won that game 4 to 0.

On Apr 12 the Marines lost to the Hawks on Nobuhiko Matsunaka's a 3 base hit, 1 to 4, and also lost the next day to Matsunaka's 3 run home run 1 to 6. The Buffaloes clinched the game against the Lions in the last inning on Apr 12, but lost the next day 6 to 7. The Golden Eagles won 2 days in a row. It's against the Fighters.

On Apr 7, the Golden Eagles won it's 2nd game of the season 13 to 0 over the Marines. Pitcher Yasuhiro Ichiba had his first shut out victory in pro baseball. But it lost the next day to the Marines Benny Agbayani's 3 run home run, and then again the following day. The Lions won 7 to 1 against the Fighters. Daisuke Matsuzaka won his first game of the seasons on Apr 7. The next day, Fumiya Nishiguchi won the next day, and on Apr 9, rookie Hideaki Wakui won giving the Lions it's 8th victory in a row. The Buffaloes defeated the Hawks 2 games in a row from Apr 7, and on Apr 9, they tied.

Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Julio Zuleta homered for the Hawks on Apr 4 to take their team to a 5 to 3 victory over the Fighters. But the next day, the Fighters won with homers by Michihiro Ogasawara and Tsuyoshi Shinjo. It's 8 to 5. On Apr 6, Yu Darvish shut out the Hawks in a 3 to 0 game. The Buffaloes so far has been drawing a big crowd thanks to Norihiro Nakamura and Kazuhiro Kiyohara. Performance wise, on Apr 4 with Arihito Muramatsu's RBI defeated the Marines 1 to 0. But the next day the Marines Benny Agbayani homered to give his team a 7 to 5 win in a 10 inning match. On Apr 6, rookie Yoshihisa Hirano shut out the Marines in a 0 to 5 game. The Lions clinched its 5th win in a row on Apr 5. It's over the Golden Eagles 6 to 3 thanks to its new star GG Sato's 2 run home run.

On Apr 1, Norihiro Nakamura of the Buffaloes had his first RBI of the season. But his team lost to the Fighters 6 to 7. The next day, the Lions won its 4th game in a row, by defeating the Marines 7 to 1. The Golden Eagles returned to face a losing streak of 2, in a 2 to 8 game against the Hawks.

League standing as of end of April
1.Seibu Lions
2.Fukuoka Softbank HawksOrix Buffaloes
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Nippon Ham Fighters
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles

March
All teams changed venues for the first time on Mar 28. The Marines played home for the first time this season. It beat the Fighters with Tsuyoshi Nishioka's homer 2 to 0. The Hawks Hiroshi Shibahara finished the game with his RBI in the 9th inning, for a 2 to 1 win over the Lions. The Buffaloes won 4 to 2 against the Golden Eagles in a 6 inning game due to heavy rain. On Mar 29, the Lions rookie Ginjiro Sumitani showed he was a new shining star. His first home run was a grand slam. He also blasted a 2 run in the game against the Hawks and helpd his team win 13 to 4. The next day, the Lions' Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was named MVP at the WBC started. But his team lost 2 to 3. On Mar 31, Rakuten finally won its first game of the season, and the first for skipper Katsuya Nomura since he took over. It's 10 to 4 over the Hawks.

The season opened on Mar 25 with all stadiums packed with fans or more than 100,000 in all. There was still excitement in the air from Japan's World Baseball Classic. The manager of that team, Sadaharu Oh delivered his victory message to fans before the game and displayed the trophy by Tiffany. His Hawks faced last year's Japan club team champion, the Marines. The Hawks blasted and beat the rival 7 to 2. The Lions game was opened with a ceremonious pitch by Shizuka Arawaka, the figure skating gold medalist of the Turin Winter Olmypic Games. The game went to the Buffaloes 5 to 2, with newly acquired superstars such as Norihiro Nakamura and Kazuhiro Kiyohara. The Fighters Michihiro Ogasawara blasted a home run getting his team kick started for the season, and it won 3 to 1 over the Golden Eagles. On Mar 26, the game between the Hawks and the Marines was a home run competition including homers by Julio Zuleta, Toshiaki Imae and Nobuhiko Matsunaka. The Hawks in the end won 9 to 7. The Lions that day defeated the Buffaloes 8 to 2. RBIs by Michihiro Ogasawara and Fernando Seguignol helped the Fighter beat the Golden Eagles 5 to 2.

League standing as of end of March
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
1.Orix Buffaloes
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Nippon Ham Fighters Orix Buffaloes
3.Seibu Lions
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles


LAST SEASON CHAMPION: CHIBA LOTTE MARINES(As a result of playoffs)

Final league standing of 2005
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Seibu Lions
4.Orix Buffaloes
5.Nippon Ham Fighters
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles



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