2009 SEASON IN THE PACIFIC LEAGUE

Climax Series
2nd stage: Golden Eagles vs Nippon Ham Fighters
The 2 teams faced eachother at the Sapporo Dome from Oct 21. The Fighters had in a run first, but the Golden Eagles quickly equalized and took the lead with a 3 RBI double by Takeshi Yamasaki. It was a game fans thought the Golden Eagles would secure. But the Fighters slowly accummulated runs, and in the 9th inning, on Terrmel Sledge's grand slam finished the game 9 to 3. On Oct 22, the Golden Eagles was the first to hit in a run. It's Fernando Seguinol's home run. The Fighters equalized immiately. Then it was a nightmare for the Golden Eagles ace pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. He lost hits, hit the batter, and lost 2 runs. The Golden Eagles lost again in a 1 to 3 game. One more loss will take the team out of the series. On Oct 23, in a close game, Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka managed to hurl over the distance to help his team win 3 to 2. On Oct 24, the Fighters Terrmel Sledge gave his team a lead off RBI. Hichori Moriomoto slammed a 2 run homer. The Golden Eagles came close to the Fighters, and ace pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma came on the mound in hope of helping the Fighters from scoring more. But Terrmel Sledge blasted off a 3 run home run. The Fighters won 9 to 4, and secured its place in the Japan Series.

1st stage: Golden Eagles vs Hawks
The series kicked off on Oct 16 in Sendai's Kleenex Stadium. Already in the first inning the Golden Eagles Yosuke Takasu homered off Toshiya Sugiuchi. Then Fernando Seguinol slammed a 2 run. The Golden Eagles ace pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma had a tough 4th inning, but managed to stay put. He hurled over the distance in a 11 to 4 game. On Oct 17, Masahiro Tanaka started for the Golden Eagles. He pitched well. Meanwhile 40 year old Takeshi Yamasaki slammed his 2nd home run in this series. This time it was a 3 run. The Golden Eagles beat the Hawks 4 to 1 to advance to the 2nd stage.

October
The Golden Eagles defeated the Buffaloes on Oct 9. With this win it has for the first time secured 2nd place in the league. The regular season ended on Oct 11, with the Golden Eagles facing a shut out defeat to the Hawks.

The Fighters celebrated its league victory on Oct 6, by defeating the Lions in the 12th inning. That day the Golden Eagles lost earlier to the Marines, and with that result the Fighters victory was secured. The Marines Satoru Komiyama closed the game and told the fans he was retiring. Skipper Bobby Valentine also gave his farewell speech in Japanese.

On Oct 3, the Golden Eagles exploded with Teppei slamming 3 run homers twice and Takeshi Yamasaki a 3 run. With this defeat against the Lions, the team for the first time since it was founded has secured a berth to the climax series.

On Oct 1, the Golden Eagles beat the Hawks with Todd Linden's 2 runs batted in and rises to 2nd place. The Hawks falls to 3rd. The Lions managed to beat the Marines, and the Fighter beat the Buffaloes.

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

September
The Golden Eagles lost the game its ace pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma started on Sept 29 to the Hawks but won the next day. The Fighters Terrmel Sledge homered twice on Sept 29 to help defeat the Buffaloes. The Fighters won the next game too. The Lions was defeated for the 4th game in a row on Sept 30, that's in the game against the Marines.

All eyes are on the Golden Eagles. On Sept 25, Masahiro Tanaka started but gave up home runs to the Lions and lost. The Golden Eagles, however managed to win the next 2 games. The Fighters tied with the Hawks on Sept 25, won 1, lost 1. Not much attention is on the Marines and the Buffaloes as they are far behind in the league standing.

The Fighters lost all 3 games against the Lions from Sept 21. The Hawks lost 2 of 3 against the Marines. The Golden Eagles won 2 of 3 against the Buffaloes, to come close to the Hawks in its league standing.

On Sept 19, the Fighters defeated the Buffaloes on Terrmel Sledge's home run in the 11th inning. It extended its winning streak to 3 the next day, but on Sept 20 Yu Darvish could not perform well to extend the streak. The Lions starter Kazuyuki Hoashi shut out the Hawks on Sept 19. The Lions lost the next day, but won the day after.

On Sept 15, the Golden Eagles lost to the Fighters even though its started was ace pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. It won the next day but lost the day after. The Lions won only 1 of 3 games against the Marines from Sept 15. The Hawks did too against the Buffaloes.

Yu Darvish was back starting for the Fighters on Sept 13. He pitched well and that helped his team end its losing streak at 6. It's in the game against the Marines. The Golden Eagles won the first 2 games against the Hawks from Sept 11, while on Sept 13, it was defeated by Munenori Kawasaki's game winning RBI. The Lions managed to win 2 of 3 games from the Buffaloes keeping its chance to proceed to the playoffs.

The Fighters did poorly from Sept 8, losing all 3 games to the Lions. On Sept 8 the Hawks marked its 6th win in a row in a game against the Marines, but lost the next 2 games. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 12th game on Sept 8 against the Buffaloes. His team won the next 2 games.

The Fighters defeated the Golden Eagles in 2 games from Sept 4. But on Sept 6, Yoshio Itoi missed a fly ball and the Golden Eagles won. The Hawks are in good shape clinching its 5th straight win on Sept 6, winning all 3 games against the Lions. The Marines lost to the Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes 2 run homer and more on Sept 4, but was able to win the next 2 games.

The Fighters managed to win just 1 of 3 games against the Marines from Sept 1. The Hawks lost to the Buffaloes on Sept 1, but won the next 2 games. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 11th game against the Lions on Todd Linden's game clinching RBI hit on Sept 1. But the team lost the next 2 games.

League standing as of September 30
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Rakuten Golden Eagles
4.Seibu Lions
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Chiba Lotte Marines

August
The Fighter extended their winning streak to 4 against the Hawks on Aug 29, but that streak ended the next day. The Golden Eagles are in good shape winning its 4th straight game on Aug 29.

The Fighters lost its 6th game in a row on Aug 26, but won the next 2 games against the Buffaloes. The Lions clinched an 11 inning game against the Golden Eagles on Aug 26, but was shut out by Satoshi Nagai the next day and lost to Masahiro Tanaka on Aug 28 to keep 3rd place. The Hawks lost the first 2 games to the Marines and tied the 3rd.

From Aug 21, H1N1 infected Fighter lost all 3 games to the Hawks. The Golden Eagles consecutive win record stopped at 6 on Aug 22 in the game against the Buffaloes. But it managed to win the next day. The Lions Takayuki Kishi shut out the Marines on Aug 22, and his team clinched the game in the final inning. The Lions also won a close game the next day.

The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 10th game on Aug 18 against the Fighters. The next game was rained out and the Fighters were in trouble. 5 players and coached caught the H1N1 virus. On Aug 20, the team had to play without its main players and lost to the Golden Eagles. The Hawks and the Lions tied on Aug 20. The Lions won the next game and the Hawks after that. The Marines beat the Buffaloes in 2 games.

The Fighter won all 3 games against the Lions from Aug 14, with the last one clinched through its rival's wild pitch. The Buffaloes won the first 2 games from the Hawks. In the 3rd game the Hawks exploded with a grand slam by Nobuhiko Matsunaka. The Golden Eagles won all 3 games against the Marines. The 3rd game was sensation with 2 homers by Takeshi Yamasaki.

The Fighters won 2 of 3 games against the Buffaloes from Aug 11. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 9th game on Aug 11 by shutting out the Hawks. The next day the Golden Eagles won too but lost on Aug 13. The Lions won the first 2 games from Aug 11, and lost to the Marines on Aug 13.

On Aug 7, the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka and the Fighters Yu Darvish started. It's the first time in 2 years they pitched in the same game. With the support of Takeshi Yamazaki, Ma-kun won the game. However, the Fighters won the next 2 games. The Hawks won 2 of 3 games against the Lions from Aug 7. The Marines too won 2 of 3 games against the Buffaloes.

The Fighters on Aug 4 beat the Lions, lost the next day, and won on Aug 6. The Hawks defeated the Marines in the first 2 games but lost the 3rd. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 9th game against the Buffaloes on Aug 4. Then rookie Hiromichi Fujiwara shut out the Buffaloes the next day. The Golden Eagles clinched a 12 inning game on Aug 6 too.

The Fighters lost to the Hawks Nobuhiko Matsunaka's 2 run home run on Aug 2, but the next day won with a 2 run homer by Tomohiro Nioka. The Lions Takeya Nakamura blased in both games from Aug 2, and won the first but lost the other to the Buffaloes. The Golden Eagles lost both games to the Marines from Aug 2.

League standing as of August 31
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Rakuten Golden Eagles
4.Seibu Lions
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Chiba Lotte Marines

July
The Fighter won its 9th game in a row on Jul 31, with Yu Darvish taking the win against the Hawks. The Marines Shunsuke Watanabe hurled over the distance and his team beat the Golden Eagles started by Masahiro Tanaka. The Buffaloes lost to the Lions.

After the all-star break, the league went into the later part of the season from Jul 28. The Fighter faced the Marines and won all games, marking on Jul 30 its 8th win in a row. The Buffaloes Alex Cabrera contributed to his team to win 2 games from the Hawks. On Jul 28, the Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma at last won by hurling over the distance facing the Lions. Takeshi Yamasaki slammed a 3 run home run and a single to support his 7th win.

On Jul 20, the Golden Eagles won the game against the Hawks by successfully appointing Masahiro Tanaka as the closer. But the Hawks won the next 2 games. The Fighter won its 5th game in a row on Jul 23, and Yu Darvish collected his 12th win against the Marines.

From Jul 17, the Fighters didn't play any of the 3 games, but since to the Hawks lost 2 to the Marines, the Fighters surged to first place on Jul 19. That day the Golden Eagles Todd Linden hit in a game winning run to defeat the Buffaloes.

The Golden Eagles beat the Lions on Jul 14, but was shut out by the Lions Hideaki Wakui. Then on Jul 16 the Golden Eagles won. From Jul 14, the Hawks lost 2 games out of 3 against the Fighters. By the way, the Fighters Yu Darvish announced on Jul 15 after he won the game that he was expecting a 2nd child. The Buffaloes won all 3 games against the Marines.

From Jul 10 the Fighters won all 3 games against the Marines. The last one was clinched with a game winning RBI by Tomohiro Nioka The Golden Eagles lost the game which Masahiro Tanaka started on Jul 10. It's against the Hawks. It won the next day but lost on Jul 12. The Lions consecutive win was halted on Jul 10 at 6 in the game against the Buffaloes. But the Lions won the next 2 games.

The Hawks lost to the Buffaloes on Jul 7, but won the next 2 games. The Lions won all 3 games against the Fighters. On Jul 9 Hideaki Wakui won his 10th game. The Golden Eagles succumbed to its 8th loss in a row on Jul 8. It's losing streak was ended the next day with home run by Takeshi Yamasaki against the Marines.

On Jul 3, the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka was clobbered in the 8th inning by the Lions, including a 2 run home run by Takeya Nakamura. The Golden Eagles losing streak was 6 on Jul 5. The Buffaloes won the first 2 games against the Marines, and lost on Jul 5. The Hawks Nobuhiko Matsunaka homered on Jul 4 and 5 against the Fighters, and helped his team surge to first place in the league.

The Fighters beat the Golden Eagles on both Jul 1 and 2. The Lions defeated the Marines on Jul 1. The next day the teams broke the Pacific League record by playing a 5 hour 42 minute game which the Marines in the end won. That day the Hawks lost to the Buffaloes in an 11 inning game.

League standing as of July 31
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Seibu Lions
4.Rakuten Golden Eagles
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Chiba Lotte Marines

June
On June 30 the Fighters starter Keisaku Itokazu won his first game ever against the Golden Eagles. The Hawks marked its 3rd win in a row while its opponent the Buffaloes its 3rd loss in a row. The Marines Saburo helped his team win with a 3 run homerun against the Lions.

Teams were back facing eachother within the league from Jun 26. The Hawks continued to play well following the Interleague victory winning 2 of 3 games against the Lions. The Fighter won 2 games too against the Marines. The Hawks and Fighters tied for 1st place on Jun 28. A shock for the Golden Eagles is that it lost on Jun 26, in the game Masahiro Tanaka pitched. But it managed to win the next 2 games against the Buffaloes.

League standing as of June 30
1.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
3.Rakuten Golden Eagles
4.Seibu Lions
5.Chiba Lotte Marines
6.Orix Buffaloes

May
On May 16, the Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma hurled over the distance for the first time this season and won his 5th game over the Hawks. The Buffaloes losing streak ended at 9 on May 17 with a win over the Fighters.

The Golden Eagles fell from first place on May 12, and replaced by the Fighters to which it faced defeat. The next day Masahiro Tanaka was back after recovering from an injury and his team won to tie for first place. But on May 14, it lost falling again to 2nd place. Lions pitcher Takayuki Kishi won his 12th straight game since last year on May 12. The Lions won the next 2 games too against the Buffaloes. The Marines won the first 2 games from May 12. But lost in the end on May 14.

The Marines beat the Golden Eagles on May 8 with Tadahito Iguchi's RBI. The Fighters Yu Darvish easily won the game against the Buffaloes. The Hawks beat the Lions on Jose Ortiz game winning 2 run homer.

The Golden Eagles loss to the Lions on May 4, but despite Masahiro Tanaka's absence from an injury won the next 2 games. The Fighters on May 4 beat the Marines with a home run by Atsunori Inaba. It won the next day too, but lost to Shunsuke Watanabe on May 6. The Buffaloes stopped its losing streak at 5 on May 4, it's against the Hawks and won again the next day.

In all 3 games against the Buffaloes from May 1, the Golden Eagles won. On May 1, the Hawks Nobuhiko Matsunaka blasted with a 2 run then a 3 run home run to beat the Marines. The Marines Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Tadahito Iguchi blasted consecutive home runs to beat the Hawks the next day, but lost on May 3. The Lions defeated the Fighters on May 1, but it was the Fighters which won competitive games that went into extra innings the next 2 days.

April
All eyes were on Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka on Apr 29. He hurled over the distance again in a 2 to 1 game against the Fighters. This game turned out to be skipper Katsuya Nomura's 1500th win. The next day, the Golden Eagles won again.From Apr 28 the Buffaloes won 2 games in a row against the Marines. But on Apr 30 the Marines clinched the game with Tadahito Iguchi's 3 run home run. The Lions Hiram Bocachica slammed 2 homers on Apr 29 to beat the Hawks 2 games in a row.

On Apr 24, the Fighters Yu Darvish struck out 13 and shut out the Buffaloes. On Apr 26, Tuffy Rhodes blasted his Japan career 450th home run. He had 2 more homers in the same game to give his team a win. The Lions Hideaki Wakui hurled over the distance striking out 12 in a game over the Marines on Apr 24. The Lions lost the next 2 days. The Hawks beat the Golden Eagles after 2 losses in a row on Apr 25. But the Golden Eagles won on Apr 26.

On Apr 21, the Hawks Nobuhiko Matsunaka blasted 2 home runs and his team beat the Fighters. The next day, Hiroyuki Kokubo homered a 2 run for another win. But the Hawks lost on Apr 23. The Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka hurled over the distance and shut out the Marines on Apr 22. That day the Buffaloes Greg LaRocca blasted a 3 run home run to beat the Lions.

The Fighters Yu Darvish won his 2nd game on Apr 17 against the Lions. The Fighters won the next 2 game too. On Apr 18, the Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma shut out the Buffaloes. But the team lost the next day and gave it's first spot away to the Fighters. The Marines clinched the game against the Hawks on Apr 17 but lost the next 2 games.

On Apr 14, the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka hurled over the distance for his 2nd win. It's against the Marines which faced its 6th loss in a row. But the next day, the Marines won with a 2RBI 3 base hit by Tadahito Iguchi. On Apr 16, Iguchi grand slammed to give his team a win. The Buffaloes Tuffy Rhodes his a 2 run home run on Apr 14 to help his team defeat the Fighters. The next day the Fighters Makoto Kaneko broke the Japan record with his 2 base hit in 7 games in a row. The Fighters won this day and the following day too. The Lions won 2 games against the Hawks in 3 games from Apr 14.

WBC star Hisashi Iwakuma lost to WBC teammate Hideaki Wakui on Apr 10, the Golden Eagles lost the next day too. But on Apr 12, Darrell Rasner hurled over the distance for the team's victory. The Buffaloes Greg LaRocca homered 3 times on Apr 10 to defeat the Marines. In the next game teammate Tuffy Rhodes slammed a 2 run homer. The Buffaloes won its 3rd game in a row on Apr 12 on Jose Fernandes's home run. Yu Darvish won his first game of the season on Apr 10. It's against the Hawks. The Fighters won the next game too, but on Apr 12 lost.

The Golden Eagles young ace pitcher Masahiro Tanaka started on Apr 7. He shut out the Hawks. The next day, however the Golden Eagles winning streak was ended at 4. But it won on Apr 8. On Apr 7 the Lions Taketoshi Goto slammed a 2 run homer. Yoshihito Ishii homered to. The Lions beat the Buffaloes 8 to 3. The next day the Buffaloes won with Tuffy Rhodes 3 run home run while the Lions won on Apr 9. Tomohiro Nioka who joined the Fighters from the Giants this season slammed his 1st home run on Apr 7. He himself on base in all 3 times and the Fighters beat the Marines 9 to 1. The Fighters Atsunori Inaba was amazing the next day blasting 3 home runs and his team winning again.

This season's kick off game on Apr 3 that attracted the most attention, the Golden Eagles vs the Fighters as Japan's best pitchers started for the game. But Yu Darvish gave up 3 run already in the 1st inning, including a 2 run homer to Fernando Seguignol. Hisashi Iwakuma gave 1 run and stopped pitching after the 6th inning. Darvish hurled over the distance, but his team lost 1 to 3. The Golden Eagles won the next game too with another homer by Fernando Sequignol and an RBI hit by newcomer Norihiro Nakamura.Nakamura homered a 2 run the next day for the teams 3 win in a row. The Hawks starter Tsuyoshi Wada shut out the Buffaloes on opening day. Nobuhiko Matsunaka contributed by hitting in a total 5 runs.It's an 8 to 0 game. The Hawks lost the next day but won on Apr 5. Former MLB player Tadahito Iguchi hit in 2 runs for the Marines on Apr 3. The Lions catcher Toru Hosokawa slammed a 3 run homer. The Lions won 5 to 2. The Marines reversed a game it was losing the next day with runs by Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Tadahito Iguchi. Toshiaki Imae slammed a 3 run homer. 44 year old Satoshi Komiyama who took over from the started secured a win. The Marines clinched the game also on Apr 5.

League standing as of April 30
1.Rakuten Golden Eagles
2.Nippon Ham Fighters
2.Orix Buffaloes
4.Seibu Lions
5.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Chiba Lotte Marines



LAST SEASON CHAMPION: SEIBU LIONS Final league standing of 2008
1.Seibu Lions
2.Orix Buffaloes
3.Nippon Ham Fighters
4.Chiba Lotte Marines
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks


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