Climax Series
2nd stage: Marines vs Fighters
1st game
Yu Darvish started for the Fighters on Oct 13. Although the Fighters
lost a run. The team immediately steered ahead in the 2nd inning,
with Hichori Morimoto's 2 RBI hit.
In the end the Fighters won 5 to 2. Darvish hurled over the distance.
2nd game
The Marines catcher Tomoya Satozaki homered twice. And Marines,
with 5 homers in all, beat the Fighters on Oct 14, 8 to 1.
3rd game
In the 3rd game on Oct 15, it was in the 7th inning, the Fighters blasted starting
with a double by Naoto Inada.
It won 7 to 0 against the Marines.
4th game
The Marines Tomoya Satozaki's 2 run home run helped his team win.
It's 5 to 1 against the Fighters.
5th game
Young pitchers started for both teams. For the Marines, Yoshihisa Naruse.
For the Fighters, Yu Darvish.
Naruse did not last. He gave up a 3 run home run to Fernando Seguignol.
In the end, the Fighters won 6 to 2.
With this victory is headed for the Japan Series.
1st stage: Marines vs Hawks
On a rainy day, the teams met at the Chiba Marine Statium on Oct 8.
Starting for the Hawks, Kazumi Saito. But he did not last.
Whereas his opponent, Shunsuke Watanabe hurled over the distance.
The Marines won 8 to 4.
The next day, the Hawks won, 8 to 3.
But on Oct 10, the Marines Yoshihisa Naruse shut out the Hawks, and as his team earned 4 runs,
the Marines clinched the first stage.
October
The Marines on Oct 2 beat the Lions 2 to 1, and won on Oct 3 against the Hawks.
With this win, it secured 2nd place in the league to advance to the "climax series".
The Hawks 3rd place finish has been fixed.
The Golden Eagles, Masahiro Tanaka clinched his 11th win in a 5 to 1 game against the
Fighters to secure the best finish ever since the team was established.
Final league standing
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Rakuten Golden Eagles
5.Seibu Lions
6.Orix Buffaloes
September
The Hawks clinched the game on Sept 1 from the Fighters with Munenori Kawasaki's homer run.
The following day the Fighters won.
The Marines beat the Buffaloes on Sept 1 but lost the next day, in a game which the Buffaloes
Tuffy Rhodes recorded his Japan career's 400th homer.
The Golden Eagles Jose Fernandez had a grand slam and another home run on Sept 1, helping his team
beat the Lions. The Golden Eagles won again the next day and surged to 4th place which the Lions fell.
The Fighters lost to the Buffaloes Hirotoshi Kitagawa's 3 run home run on Sept 4. The next day the Fighters won. The Marines from Sept 4 won 2 games against the Lions. But the Hawks meanwhile won on Sept 5 and 6 against the Golden Eagles and surged to 2nd place.
The Fighter beat the Lions on Sept 7, but the next 2 games it lost. The Fighters manager Trey Hillman announced he would not be with the team the next season due to a personal matter. The Hawks, from Sept 7 won the first 2 games, but lost the 3rd. The Marines and the Golden Eagles won a game each.
On Sept 10, Buffaloes beat the Hawks. From Sept 10, the Fighters beat the Marines in 2 straight games, lost the game on Sept 12 even though the starter was Yu Darvish, but won on Sept 13. The Hawks won 2 games against 3 over the Lions from Sept 11. The Golden Eagles lost to the Buffaloes homers by Greg LaRocca and Tuffy Rhodes on Sept 11, but won the next 2 games by clinching them in the final inning.
The Hawks faced the Fighters from Sept 15 in which the Hawks lost the first, but clinched the next 2, including a shut out victory by starter Nagisa Arakaki. The Marines lost to the Buffaloes on Sept 15, won on Tomoya Satozaki's 2 run the next day, but lost on Sept 17. By the way the Buffaloes Greg LaRocca broke a hit-by-a-pitch record with his 25th. On Sept 15, the Golden Eagles won but lost to the Lions the next 2 games.
From Sept 18, the Fighters defeated the Golden Eagles in 2 games. The Buffaloes won 2 games against the Lions too, even though in the first, Tuffy Rhodes slammed a league leading 42nd home run. The Marines played 3 games against the Hawks. It lost the first in a 12 inning game, but won the next too.
On Sept 21, the Fighters Shinji Takahashi grand slammed to take his team to a 13 to 5 win against the Buffaloes. But the Fighters lost the next day. The Lions, from Sept 21 won 2 games against the Hawks. The Golden Eagles Takeshi Yamasaki slammed his 42nd homer, a 2 run to help his team win 9 to 3 over the Marines. But the next day the Marines won on Julio Zuleta's hits for cycle.
On Sept 23, the Fighters lost to the Hawks and finished a draw the next day. The Marines Shunsuke Watanabe shut out the Buffaloes on Sept 23, but lost the next day. From Sept 23, the Golden Eagles beat the Lions in 2 games.
Stars Yu Darvish of the Fighters and the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka started on Sept 26. Tanaka shut out the Fighters until the 9th inning when he gave up 2 RBIs, and lost the game. The Hawks beat the Buffaloes that day. The Marines Julio Zuleta's 3 run homer gave his team a victory over the Lions.
From Sept 27, the Fighters beat the Lions in 2 games. The Marines also defeated the Hawks, 2 games in a row. On Sept 29, the Fighers with a victory over the Marines, clinched first place in the league.
League standing as of Sept 30
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Rakuten Golden Eagles
5.Seibu Lions
6.Orix Buffaloes
August
The Fighters lost to the Lions Alex Cabrera's 2 run homer on Aug 1.
The next day, its ace pitcher Yu Darvish clinched his 9th win in a 3 to 2 game.
Tuffy Rhodes of the Buffaloes keeps hitting well, with a 2 run homer on Aug 1, helping his team beat the Hawks.
The game was rained out the next day.
The Golden Eagles Hideki Asai shut out the Marines on Aug 1. The following day, it
had a devastating defeat.
The Marines beat the Fighters in 2 straight games from Aug 3. The Golden Eagles defeated the Hawks in 2 games in a row. The Buffaloes too won 2 straight games against the Lions.
From Aug 7, the Hawks lost 2 games in a row against the Lions, but won on Aug 9. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 3rd game this season on Aug 7. It's against the Fighters. But the Fighters won the next day on Fernando Seguignol's home run. On Aug 9, Yu Darvish won his 10th game and also announced he was set to marry Japanese variety show personality Saeko who's also pregnant with his child. The Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes slammed his 36th home run to tie with the leader on Aug 7, and his team beat the Marines. The Buffaloes also won the next day.
On Aug 10, the Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes with a 2 run home run defeated the Hawks. The Hawks won the next day but the Buffaloes won on Aug 11. The Hawks Rick Guttormson was suspended from games from Aug 10 for 20 days. He was caught doping. The Golden Eagles beat the Marines on Aug 10. It was shut out by the Marines Hiroshi Kobayashi the next day and lost, but won on Aug 11. The Fighters won 2 games it played against the Lions from Aug 11.
From Aug 14, the Fighters won all 3 games against the Hawks. On Aug 16, Yu Darvish earned his 11th win. The Lions beat the Marines on Aug 14 but lost the next 2 games. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma pitched well to help his team defeat the Buffaloes on Aug 14. The next day the team lost, but won on Aug 16, in a game which Yasuhiro Ichiba won his 1st game of the season.
The Fighters stretched its consecutive win to 8 on Aug 17 defeating the Marines, but lost the next 2 games. The Hawks beat the Golden Eagles on Aug 17, but lost the next 2 games too. The Lions Fumiya Nishiguchi won his career 150th game on Aug 17. It's against the Buffaloes. Takeshi Hidaka's 3 run home run helped the Buffaloes win the next day. On Aug 19, the Lions Hideaki Wakui earned his 15th win over the Buffaloes to lead both leagues.
The Fighters shut out the Buffaloes on both Aug 21 and 22. The Hawks defeated the Lions in all 3 games from Aug 21. The Marines won 2 of 3 games from Aug 21 against the Golden Eagles.
The Fighters lost 2 of 3 games against the Lions from Aug 24. But it keeps its top post. Meanwhile, the Hawks and the Marines competed against eachother for 2nd place. On Aug 25, the Hawks won to rise to 2nd place. But the next day, the Marines beat the Hawks to regain 2nd place. The Buffaloes won 2 games of 3 against the Golden Eagles from Aug 24.
In the only game on Aug 27, the Golden Eagles blasted. Especially Takeshi Yamasaki with 2 home runs to lead the home run race. The Golden Eagles won 11 to 1 against the Fighters. The Golden Eagles won the next day too, but lost on Aug 29. On Aug 28 the Hawks tied against the Buffaloes. The Hawks won the next day. The Marines, from Aug 28 beat the Lions 2 games in a row. But on Aug 30 GG Satoh helped the Lions beat the Marines.
The Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka earned his 10th win in a game against the Lions on Aug 31. The Buffaloes Hirotoshi Kitagawa finished the game in the 10th inning with an RBI hit over the Marines.
League standing as of August 31
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Seibu Lions
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Orix Buffaloes
July
On July 1, the Fighters Fernando Seguignol's homered to help his team defeat the Buffaloes 3 to 1.
The Marines beat the Hawks. The Lions GG Satoh blasted a 2 run homer and the Golden Eagles lost again.
The Fighters on Jul 3 knocked out the Lions Fumiya Nishiguchi to win. But it lost the next day 2 days. The Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes 2 run homer in the 11th inning defeated the Marines on Jul 3. The next day the Marines won on Matt Watson's 3 run homer and the following day on Tomoya Satozaki's home run to rise to first place. On Jul 3 the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka pitched until he was hit by the ball on his left wrist, which was in the 6th inning. His team beat the Hawks 8 to 6 to give him his 6th win. The next game was rained out. The Golden Eagles won on Jul 5 too.
On Jul 6, the Fighters Yu Darvish shut out the Marines in a game he hurled over the distance. The Fighters won the next 2 games too. The Golden Eagles from Jul 6 won all 3 games against the Buffaloes. On Jul 7, the Hawks lost against the Lions for its 4th loss in a row. But the next day, it managed to win.
The Buffaloes Greg LaRocca's 2 run home run helped his team defeat the Fighters on Jul 10. The Fighters won the next 2 games. Jose Ortiz of the Marines grand slammed for his team's 7 to 0 win against the Lions on Jul 10. The next day, the Lions Hiroyuki Nakajima grand slammed to give his team a victory. The Lions also won on Jul 12. The Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka won his 7th game in a 3 to 2 game against the Hawks on Jul 10. The Golden Eagles won the following day too, but lost on Jul 12.
On Jul 13, the Lions beat the Buffaloes but lost the next 2 games. The Hawks beat the Marines on Jul 13 and so did the Fighters defeat the Golden Eagles.
The Fighters winning streak ended at 3 on Jul 16, in a game the Hawks Kazuhiro Wada hurled over the distance for his 8th win. The next day the Fighters won, but lost on Jul 18 to Toshiya Sugiuchi. The Marines Hiroyuki Kobayashi pitched all 9 innings for his team's win over the Buffaloes on Jul 16. The teams tied the next day in a turbulent game where 3 players were taken out. Tuffy Rhodes was fined. On Jul 18, Nolan Ryan made a ceremonious pitch for the Marines Bobby Valentine, and the Marines may have benefitted from it and won. The Golden Eagles rookie Masahiro Tanaka lost his 4th game against the Lions on Jul 16, but the next day, Domingo Gusman who pitched for the first time for the Golden Eagles won. On Jul 18 The Lions beat the Golden Eagles.
Regular season resumes after the all star break on Jul 24. The Hawks defeated the Marines in all 3 games and surged to 2nd place. The Fighters lost to the Buffaloes in all 3 games. On Jul 24, the Lions, in a competitive game beat the Golden Eagles. The next day, with home runs by Takeshi Yamasaki and Teppei won. But the Golden Eagles lost on Jul 26, despite Yamasaki's 33rd home run.
The Buffaloes Tuffy Rhode homered twice on Jul 27 to defeat the Golden Eages. The next day, the Golden Eagles won and it took 5th place. But on Jul 29, it lost and returned to 6th place. The Lions flight was delayed by hours to Fukuoka on Jul 27, so the game between the Hawks could not be held. The Hawks won the next 2 games. On Jul 28, the Marines beat the Fighters while it was the other way around the next day.
On Jul 31 The Fighters lost to the Lions and the Hawks beat the Buffaloes to return to first place. The Marines veteran pitchers, starter Masato Yoshii, and also Satoru Komiyama were clobbered to lost against the Golden Eagles.
League standing as of July 31
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Nippon Ham Fighters
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Seibu Lions
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Orix Buffaloes
June
Games were played within the league after the interleague format was wrapped up.
On June 29,the Hawks managed to defeat the Marines with Hiroshi Shibahara's home run in the 9th inning.
The next day it was a competitive game which ended a draw.
The Fighters on June 29 lost to the Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes base sweeping hit.
The following day the Fighters won.
The Golden Eagles lost both games to the Lions.
League standing as of June 30
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Seibu Lions
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Orix Buffaloes
May
The Hawks marked its 9th win in a row on May 1 on Nobuhiko Matsunaka's 3 run home run, defeating
the Golden Eagles 3 to 2. The next day the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka pitched and
stoppoed his team's losing streak at 5. The Hawks won on May 3.
From May 1, the Lions beat the Buffaloes 3 games in a row.
The Marines Shunsuke Watanabe on May 2 shut out the Fighters. But the Fighers won the following day
on Eiichi Koyano's 2 run home run.
The Hawks won 2 games against the Lions from May 4, but lost on May 6. On May 4, the Fighters starter Yu Darvish secured his 4th win by hurling over the distance against the Buffaloes. The Fighters won the next 2 games too. The Golden Eagles starter Hisashi Iwakuma at last won his first game of the season. It's against the Marines. But the next day the Marines won.
The Hawks won 3 games in a row against the Fighters from May 8. The Buffaloes halted its losing streak at 10 on May 9, by defeating the Marines. But the Buffaloes again lost on May 10. The Lions won on May 8, and the Golden Eagles won the next day.
The Hawks faced the Marines from May 11. The Marines won the first game, tied in the 2nd, and with a win in the 3rd, it emerged to 2nd place. The Golden Eagles won all 3 games against the Buffaloes. The Fighters, on both May 12 and 13 defeated the Lions 3 to 2.
The Hawks beat the Buffaloes on May 15 and 16. Hiroki Kokubo homered in both game. But the Hawks lost on May 17. The Fighters 39-year old Yukio Tanaka marked his 2000th hit on May 17. But his team lost to the Rakuten who's 37-year old homered 3 times. The Lions losing streak was stopped when it beat the Marines on May 16, 8 to 3.
On May 18, the Hawks Hitoshi Tamura homered tiwce for his team's 5 to 2 win over the Fighters. The next day the Hawks lost to the Fighters 19 year old pitcher. The Golden Eagles beat the Marines on May 18, and rose to 4th place. However the Golden Eagles lost the next day. The Lions on that day lost to home runs by the Buffaloes Hirotoshi Kitagawa and Tuffy Rhodes.
League standing as of May 20
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Seibu Lions
4.Nippon Ham Fighters
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Orix Buffaloes
April
On Apr 1, the Golden Eagles Jose Fernandez and Takeshi Yamasaki both had grand slams beating
the Buffaloes 10 to 1.
The Fighters Atsunori Inaba blasted a 3 run home run for his team's 6 to 3 win over the Lions.
The Hawks Hiroki Kokubo and Nobuhiko Matsunaka homered for a 8 to 4 win over the Marines.
On Apr 3, the Lions beat the Hawks 3 to 2. The next day the Hawks won, and the Lions was in trouble. It was unveiled that it had given illegal money to 5 amateur players, aside from the 2 who were named in March. On Apr 5 Braian Buchanan homered, then Jeff Liefer grand slammed to help the Lions win 8 to 3. The Marines beat the Buffaloes on both Apr 3 and 4. But a feat was achieved by the Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes on Apr 4. With a home run, he marked his Japan pro baseball career total 1000th RBI.On Apr 5 Greg LaRocca's 2 run homered helpd his team win 3 to 2. The Golden Eagles marked a winning streak of 3 on Apr 4.But on Apr 5, super rookie Masahiro Tanaka pitched better than his debut game, but the team lost 1 to 3.
On Apr 6, the Lions, on GG Sato's home run beat the Buffaloes 5 to 2. The next day, the Lions won again, rising to first place. Already pitcher Fumiya Nishiguchi won his 3rd game. The Lions won on Apr 8 too. The Hawks lost to the Fighters on Apr 7, but won the next day with homers by Hiroki Kokubo, Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Hiroshi Shibahara. The Golden Eagles, on Apr 7 rose to 3rd place, defeating the Marines 7 to 3. It lost in a close game the next day 5 to 7.
On Apr 10, the Lions Hideaki Wakui won his 3rd game. It's against the Golden Eagles. The Lions won again the next day. On Apr 12, the spotlight was on the Golden Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. He managed to pitch 7 innings, giving up 4 runs. His team in the end won 5 to 4. The Hawks clobber the Marines 13 to 1 on Apr 10.But the Marines won the next 2 games. The Buffaloes Tuffy Rhode slammed 2 homers to beat the Fighters on Apr 10. The Fighters won the next day, while the Buffaloes was victorious on Apr 12 on Hideaki Kawagoe's shut out pitch.
On Apr 13 the Lions lost its 2nd game in a row with a 1 to 12 defeat against the Marines. But it won the next day and finished a draw on Apr 15. The Buffaloes Shinji Shimoyama's 3 run home run gave his team a 7 to 4 win over the Hawks on Apr 13. The next day, the Hawks won 4 to 2. The day after, the game was a draw. The Golden Eagles won against the Fighters on Apr 13. The next day the Fighters Yu Darvish hurled over the distance for his 2nd win. On Apr 15 the Fighters clobbered the Golden Eagles 18 to 3.
On Apr 17, the Lions Jeff Liefer grand slammed and Hideaki Wakui shut out the Fighters. The Lions lost the next game, but won on Apr 19, 6 to 2. On Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes blasted his 8th home run on Apr 17 and helped his team win 4 to 3 over the Marines. On Apr 19, Julio Zuleta homered twice for his team's 5 to 1 win over the Buffaloes. The Golden Eagles won all 3 games against the Hawks from Apr 17. On Apr 17, rookie Rei Nagai clinched his first win, and high school star Masahiro Tanaka won his first game the next day by hurling over the distance.
On Apr 20, the Fighters Yu Darvish succumbed to the Hawks Hiroki Kokubo's 3 run homer. The game ended 2 to 4 for the Hawks. The Hawks won the next 2 games too. The Golden Eagles lost to the Marines 2 games in a row from Apr 20. What was amazing was the Marines Satoru Komiyama won for this first time in 3 years on Apr 21. The Lions lost to the Buffaloes on Apr 21, but won the next day on Alex Cabrera's home run.
From Apr 24, the Marines beat the Fighters 2 games in a row to take first place. The Fighters, which faced 6 losses in a row managed to stop the losing strea on Apr 26, on Yu Darvish's shut out victory. On Apr 25 and 26, the Hawks defeated the Lions. The Golden Eagles Takeshi Yamasaki blasted on Apr 24 a 3 run and a 2 run home run to beat the Buffaloes. The next day, 41 year old pitcher Masato Yoshii of the Buffaloes outperformed 18 year old Masahiro Tanaka for his first win of the season. The 2 teams tied on Apr 26.
From Apr 28, the Hawks won all 3 games against the Buffaloes. The Lions on Apr 28 won against the Marines with GG Sato's 3 run home run. The next day, the Lions Alex Cabrera marked his 250th home run, but the Marines slammed more, including Julio Zuleta's 3 run and Benny Agbayani 2 run homers to win. On Apr 29, the Lions won 7 to 6. In the 3 games the Fighters played against the Golden Eagles, veteran player Yukio Tanaka was in great shape. On Apr 28 he grand slammed for the Fighters. The next day he blasted a 2 run home run. And on Apr 30 he had 2 RBIs to help the Fighters win all 3 games.
League standing as of Apr 30
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Seibu Lions
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Nippon Ham Fighters
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
March
The league season opened on Mar 24.
The Fighters Yu Darvish pitched well, until he was grand slammed by Julio Zuleta who's
playing for the Marines this season.
The game was ended in the 7th inning 4 to 4 due to heavy rain.
The teams tied again the next day.
At the start of the season, the Lions president apologized to the crowd for giving money to college students,
a scandal which surfaced this month.
The team, with homers by GG Sato and Kazuhiro Wada defeated the Golden Eagles 5 to 2.
The next day the Golden Eagles won 9 to 2.
Sadaharu Oh led the Hawks. His new player, Hitoshi Tamura slammed an equalizing 2 run home run, but
in the end the Hawks lost 5 to 8 to the Buffaloes. The following day the Hawks managed to win as Tsuyoshi
Wada pitched well.
On Mar 27, the Fighters failed to win again. It lost to the Buffaloes 2 to 5. But the next day the Fighters won it's first game on Fernando Seguignol's 3 run home run. On Mar 29, the Fighters lost to Tuffy Rhodes 2 homers. The Marines on Mar 27 was helpless before the Lions pitcher Hideaki Wakui. It won at last the next day thanks to Toshiaki Imae's RBI. The Hawks Nagisa Arakaki pitched well on Mar 27 to help his team win 3 to 1 over the Golden Eagles. The next day, Toshiya Sugiuchi had a shut out victory. On Mar 29, the Golden Eagles star rookie Masahiro Tanaka started, but lasted only 1 and 2/3 inning. The Hawks clinched its 4th win in a row.
On Mar 30, Yu Darvish pitched well against the Lions until the 9th inning, but the game was cut after the 12th inning, 2 to 2. The next day, the Lions Alex Cabrera homered, and the line-up blasted winning 9 to 3 over the Fighters. The Marines Shunsuke Watanabe hurled over the distance for his team's 4 to 1 victory over the Hawks on Mar 30. The next day, the Hawks new player Brian Buchanan blasted with 2 home runs, including a grand slam, and the team won 8 to 2. That day, the Golden Eagles lost to the Buffaloes 3 to 11.
League standing as of Mar 31
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Orix Buffaloes
3.Seibu Lions
4.Chiba Lotte Marines
5.Nippon Ham Fighters
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
LAST SEASON CHAMPION: NIPPON HAM FIGHTERS(As a result of playoffs)
Final league standing of 2006
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Seibu Lions
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Chiba Lotte Marines
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
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