Climax Series
2nd stage: Fukuoka Softbank Hawks vs Chiba Lotte Marines
The teams ace pitchers faced eachother for the 2nd time in the 2nd stage on Oct 19.
But Toshiya Sugiuchi created a scene in the 5th inning. With bases full, he walked 2 players.
Then Toshiaki Imae hit home 2 runners. In the 8th inning, Shoitsu Ohmatsu gave his
team a decisive win blasting a 2 run home run. The Marines clinched the climax series
with a 7 to 0 win.
It's the first time a team that ranked 3rd in the season won its way to the Japan Series.
The Marines equalized on Saburo's 2 base hit in the 7th inning on Oct 18. Then Kazuya Fukuura hit in a run to take the lead. Ortiz also hit in a run. In the 9th inning, Ikuhiro Kiyota slammed a home run. Hiro Kobayashi closed the game. The Marines won 5 to 2, tying with the Hawks, taking the 2nd stage to the 6th game.
The Marines had to win on Oct 17 to remain in the series as the Hawks had 2 wins with an extra advantage for being the league champion. And this time the Marines managed to win 4 to 2.
Foreign pitchers started for both teams on Oct 16. For the Hakws it was D.J. Houlton. For the Marines, Bill Murphy. In a very close match, it was when the Hawks Hitoshi Tamura was up to bat, a wild pitch. A runner came home. And with that the Hawks won 1 to 0.
Tsuyoshi Wada started for the Hawks on Oct 15. And he was committed to hurl over the distance as his rival Naruse did the previous day. And he did in a close game which the Hawks won 3 to 1.
On Oct 14, the final stage opened in Fukuoka Dome. The starting pitcher for the Hawks Toshiya Sugiuchi.He's won 4 games from the Marines this season. However in the 2nd inning he gave up a 3 run home run to Shoitsu Ohmatsu. As to the Marines starter Yoshihisa Naruse, he pitched well. The Marines won 3 to 1.
1st stage: Seibu Lions vs Chiba Lotte Marines
The first game of the climax series was played at the Seibu Dome on Oct 9.
Starting for the Lions, Hideaki Wakui and for the Marines Yoshihisa Naruse.
The Lions Takeya Nakamura blasted a home run. The Marines Tsuyoshi Nishioka equalized with a homer.
Then in the 11th inning, the Marines Kazuya Fukuura homered and with that the Marines won
6 to 5.
On Oct 10, the Marines caught up with the Lions on Tomoya Satozaki's home run.
Extra innings were played. In the end the Marines won 5 to 4.
September
The Lions lost to the Fighters on Sept 26, and with that result the Hawks
annual league victory was secured, even though it lost to the golden Eagles.
The Marines, meanwhile lost to the Buffaloes, reducing its prospect of
advancing to the climax series.
On Sept 23, the Lions dropped to 2nd place losing against the Golden Eagles homers by Takeshi Yamasaki and Randy Ruiz. The Hawks won first place beating the Marines that day.
The Lions lost all 3 games against the Hawks from Sept 18. The Fighters won 2 games against the Buffaloes. The Golden Eagles finished 2 games in the end against the Marines.
The Buffaloes defeated the Lions in 2 games from Sept 14. One of the games included a grand slam by T Okada who's out of the starting line up due to an injury. The Marines won 2 of 3 games against the Hawks. The Fighters beat the Golden Eagles in 2 games.
The Lions Takeya Nakamura blasted 2 homers to defeat the Marines on Sept 10. The Lions won the next 2 games to securing first place. The Marines marked its 5th loss in a row. The Hawks lost the first 2 games to the Fighters, but managed to win the 3rd. The Golden Eagles lost the first but won the next two, including good pitching by Hisashi Iwakuma who won his 10th game.
The Lions faced the Fighters from Sept 7. It won the first game on Hiroyuki Nakajima's sacrifice fly. The next game it won with a home run by Jose Fernandez. But lost the 3rd game. The Hawks Hitoshi Tamura helped his team win with homers in 2 straight games against the Golden Eagles. But the Hawks lost on Sept 9. The Buffaloes beat the Marines in 2 games.
The Lions lost one and won one game against the Golden Eagles from Sept 4. The Hawks lost to 2 homers by the Buffaloes Alex Cabrera on Sept 4, but won on Hiroki Kokubo's 2 RBI hit the next day. The Marines tied with the Hawks for 2nd place with its win against the Fighters on Sept 5.
From Sept 1, the Hawks lost 2 games to the Fighters, and fell to 2nd place. The Lions which beat the Buffaloes in 2 games rose to first place. The Meanwhile the Marines stayed close behind with 2 wins in a row against the Golden Eagles.
FINAL LEAGUE STANDING
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Seibu Lions
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Nippon Ham Fighters
5.Orix Buffaloes
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
August
On Aug 31, the Hawks won on Hiroki Kokubo's RBI hits against the Fighters.
The Buffaloes reversed the lead from the Lions to win.
The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma earned his 9th win in a game against the Marines.
Meanwhile Iwakuma's teammate, Masahiro Tanaka is reported to be out the rest of the
season due to an injury.
The Hawks manages to keep first place by winning 2 of 3 games against the Marines played from Aug 27. The Lions recorded its 7th game in a row on Aug 27 against the Golden Eagles. It's tied the next day. And on Aug 29, the Lions finally won and was 2nd place. The Buffaloes tied the first game against the Fighters but won the next 2.
The Lions played against the Marines from Aug 24. It lost all 3 games. First place was taken over by the Hawks which won 1 lost 1 and tied a game against the Buffaloes.
The Fighters won all 3 games against the Lions from Aug 20. The Hawks Hiroki Kokubo contributed with home runs in the first 2 games against the Golden Eagles. But in the 3rd game, the Hawks succumbed to Masahiro Tanaka's shut out victory. The Buffaloes lost the first 2 games to the Marines. It won the 3rd on T Okada's 2 home runs.
The Lions winning streak ended on Aug 17 in the game against the Hawks. But it won the next 2 games to keep first place. The Marines beat the Fighters in 2 games of 3 from Aug 17. The Buffaloes Chihiro Kaneko shut out the Golden Eagles on Aug 17. The next day the Golden Eagles won with a 2 run home run by Takeshi Yamasaki. On Aug 19, the Buffaloes clinched the game.
From Aug 13 the Lions played against the Buffaloes, and won all games, extending its winning streak to 8. The Hawks beat the Fighters in the first 2 games, but on Aug 15, lost. The Marines lost the first game to the Golden Eagles and won the next two. It was a dramatic win on Aug 15 with a 3 run home run by Toshiaki Imae in the 11th inning.
The Lions continued to play well from Aug 10 against the Golden Eagles, winning its 5th game in a row on Aug 12. The Hawks lost its 6th game in a row on Aug 10 defeated by the Buffloes Alex Cabrera's 2 run home run. The losing streak was ended the next day, and tied the day after. The Fighters Sho Nakata contributed to the team's win on Aug 11 against the Marines with his first 3 base hit in his pro baseball career. The Marines won the following day.
The top 2 teams faced eachother from Aug 6. The Lions beat the Hawks in all 3 games, surging to first place. The Marines defeated the Buffaloes in all 3 games too. The Buffaloes fell to 4th place. The Fighters Yu Darvish won his 10th game on Aug 6 against the Golden Eagles, and so did the Golden Eagles Masahiro Tanaka earned his 10th win on Aug 8.
On Aug 3, the Hawks starter Bobby Keppel won his 11th game fighting agaisnt the Fighters. The Fighters won the next day. The Buffaloes T Okada exploded with homers against the Lions on Aug 3 and 5. The Golden Eagles won its 4th game in a row on Aug 5 playing against the Marines.
The Hawks on Aug 1 won on Hitoshi Tamura's 3 run home run against the Marines. The Lions defeated the Fighters. Masahiro Tanaka was back starting for the Golden Eagles since an injury. He hurled 6 innings, and won is 9th game pitching against the Buffaloes.
League standing as of August 31
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Seibu Lions
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Orix Buffaloes
5.Nippon Ham Fighters
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
July
The Hawks beat the Marines won on both Jul 30 and 31 to keep its first place.
The Buffaloes clinched its 7th win in a row on Jul 31 with 2 homers by T Okada.
The Fighters that day beat the Lions, and the attention was on young up and coming
Sho Nakata's first homerun.
The later half of the season began on Jul 27 after the all star break. The Hawks played in good shape against the Golden Eagles. On Jul 28 it recorded its 9th win in a row, but that record came to a halt the following day with homers by Takeshi Yamasaki,Norihiro Nakamura and Randy Ruiz. The Lions lost the first 2 games to the Marines, marking its 6 loss in a row. But the streak was stopped on Jul 28. The buffaloes won its 5th game in a row playing against the Fighters on Jul 28.
The Lions played against the Hawks from Jul 19 and lost all 3 games. The Marines won 2 of 3 games against the Fighters. The Buffaloes won all 3 games against the Golden Eagles.
On Jul 17, the Lions clinched its 4th win in a row beating the Marines, but that winning streak ended the next day. The Golden Eagles Takeshi Yamasaki homered both days beating the Fighters. The Hawks beat the Buffaloes in both games.
The Lions from Jul 13 played against the Fighters. It lost the first game, won the next due to the Fighters flub, and on Jul 15, pitcher Masamitsu Hirano had his first shut out victory. The Marines beat the Buffaloes on Jul 13. The next day the Buffaloes pitcher Chihiro Kaneko marked his 3rd consecutive shut out victory. The Marines won on Jul 15. The Golden Eagles and the Hawks won a game each.
On Jul 9 the Fighters played against the Buffaloes and won on Eiichi Koyano's 3 run home run. It lost the next day to the Fighters Yu Darvish who hurled over the distance. It won on Jul 11. The Golden Eagles on Jul 10 won with good pitching by Hisashi Iwakuma and a 3 run homer by Randy Ruiz. The next day the Lions won. The Hawks Jose Oritz hit in a run in the 1th inning for his team's win against the Marines on Jul 10. The next day it was the Marines which won.
From Jul 6, the Lions beat the Buffaloes in 2 games, but lost on Jul 8 to the Buffaloes pitcher Ken Kaneko shut out performance. The Golden Eagles beat the Marines with Randy Ruiz's 2 homers on Jul 6, and Ryo Hijirisawa's grand slam the next day, and Todd Linden's 2 run homer on Jul 8. The Hawks Toshiya Sugiuchi shut out the Fighter on Jul 6. The Fighters won the next and rose to 4th place. The Fighter won again the following day.
On Jul 2, the Lions lost to Marines pitcher Yoshihisa Naruse, and the Lions also lost on Jul 4 to Saburo's RBI. The Buffaloes won its 4th game in a row on Jul 2, defeated the Hawks including a homer by Alex Cabrera. It lost the next day to Hawks Tsuyoshi Wada who won his 11th game but won on Jul 4. The Golden Eagles Randy Ruiz blasted a 3 run homer on Jul 2 to stop the Fighters winning streak at 6. The Fighters Yu Darvish hurled over the distance to beat the Golden Eagles the next day. The Fighters won the following day today with a grand slam by Kensuke Tanaka.
The Fighters Makoto Kaneko helped his team win its 6th game in a row by defeating the Lions on Jul 1. On the same day, the Marines Shunsuke Watanabe hurled over the distance to defeat the Hawks. The Buffaloes T Okada and Alex Cabrera homered, while Sen Kaneko shut out the Golden Eagles.
League standing as of July 31
1.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
2.Seibu Lions
3.Chiba Lotte Marines
4.Orix Buffaloes
5.Nippon Ham Fighters
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
June
The Fighters Atsunori Inaba's 2 run homer helped his team beat the Lions on June 29. The Fighters
won the next day too in an 11 inning game.
The Marines faced is 4th straight loss on June 29 in the game against the Hawks and fell to 3rd place.
But replaced the Hawks the next day by winning.
The Buffaloes beat the Golden Eagles in the 2 games from June 29.
From June 25, the Lions beat the Buffaloes in 2 of 3 games. The Fighters defeated the Marines in all 3. That's including a game on June 27 where starting pitcher Bobby Keppel earned his 10th win. The Hawks won 2 and tied in a game against the Golden Eagles.
The Lions played against the Golden Eagles from June 22. The Lions won the first game, but lost the next 2. The Fighters won its 5th game in a row by beating the Haws, but lost on June 24. The Buffaloes T Okada contributed with the bat to beat the Marines on June 22. One June 24, the Marines won with homers by Tadahito Iguchi and Kim Tae-Kyun.
On June 18, the teams were back playing in their leagues. The Lions Hideaki Wakui earned his 9th win in the game against the Hawks. The Lions won all 3 games. The Fighters defeated the Buffaloes in all 3 games. The game on June 20 was incredible with Eiichi Koyano and Makoto Kaneko both blasting grand slams. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma pitched well against the Marines on June 19, but his team lost the next day to Toshiaki Imae's RBI hit.
League standing as of June 30
1.Seibu Lions
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Orix Buffaloes
5.Nippon Ham Fighters
6.Rakuten Golden Eagles
May
On May 7, the Lions Hideaki Wakui gave up just one base hit in the game he shut out the Hawks.
With that win the Lions rose to first place.
But the next day it lost and the Marines beat the Buffaloes with homers by Kim Tae-Kyun and
Tomoya Satozaki, so the Marines and Lions exchanged places.
On May 9, the Lions was back on top by defeating the Hawks, while the Marines lost.
The Golden Eagles lost 2 games to the Fighters from May 8. It's despite a shut out 9 inning by
Hisashi Iwakuma as the closer gave up a run in the 10th inning.
The Marines Kim Tae-Kyun homered twice on May 3 contributing to his team's win over the Fighters. He homered again the next day, a game in which the Marines won again. But on May 5, the Fighters won. The Hawks won 2 games against the Buffaloes and tied one. The Golden Eagles on Teppei's 2 run home beat the Lions on May 3. But it lost the next day and the day after.
The Hawks on May 1 surged to first place with homers by Jose Ortiz and Hiroki Kokubo against the Marines. But the next day, the Marines took over the top spot with a win. The Fighters Yu Darvish earned his first shut out over the distance victory on May 1 in the game against the Lions. But the next day the Fighters winning streak was ended at 3. The Golden Eagles Hisashi Iwakuma won his 4th game on May 1, and the next day Masahiro Tanaka did too. Both in games against the Buffaloes.
League standing as of May 31
1.Seibu Lions
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Orix Buffaloes
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Nippon Ham Fighters
April
The Hawks Jose Ortiz blasted 2 homers to help beat the Marines on Apr 30.
The Fighters Yoshio Itoi's hit game his team a dramatic win over the Lions in the 10th inning.
The Golden Eagles won with a dramatic victory too on Naoto Watanabe's RBI against the Buffaloes.
The Lions Takeya Nakamura's blasted a 2 run home run on Apr 27 to defeat the Marines. The next day, the Lions with another win rose to first place. But on Apr 29 the Marines was back on top. The Hawks from Apr 27 won all 3 games against the Golden Eagles. The Fighters losing streak was halted at 3 on Apr 27. It's against the Buffaloes. The next day the Buffaloes won with Greg La Rocca's 3 run home run. But the Fighters clinched the game on Apr 29 with a 2 run homer by Atsunori Inaba
From Apr 23, the Hawks defeated the Marines int he first 2 games. It lost in the 3rd. The Golden Eagles did well against the Fighters. Particularly outstanding was Hisashi Iwakuma who started on Apr 24. He won a shut out victory for the first time in 2 years. The Buffaloes Yuji Mueda grand slammed and defeated the Lions. The Lions Takeya Nakamura finally homered and helped his team win.
On Apr 20, Golden Eagles Norihiro Nakamura slammed a 2 run home run and defeated the Marines 8 to 2. The next day Tadahito Iguchi batted in runs for the Marines to defeat the Golden Eagles. From Apr 20 the Lions Hawks won 2 games against the Hawks. On Apr 20, the Buffaloes Yoshio Itoi blasted a 2 run homer to give his team a 4 to 3 win over the Fighters. Then the next day it was Fumihiro Suzuki who blasted a 3 run homer to defeat the Fighters. On Apr 22, the Fighters won with Atsunori Inaba contributing with a 2 run homer.
The Marines on Apr 17 marked its 6th straight win with a shut out victory by Yoshihisa Naruse against the Buffaloes. But that winning streak was ended the next day. The Seibu Lions Dee Brown contributed on Apr 16 to his team's victory with RBIs against the Fighters. The next day the Fighters Yu Darvish managed to win despite giving up 5 runs. On Apr 18, the Lions Takeya Nakamura homered to help his team win. The Golden Eagles won on Apr 17 against the Hawks, but lost on a run by Nobuhiro Matsuda in the 9th inning the next day.
The Marines from Apr 13 beat the Fighters in all 3 games. So did the Lions defeat the Golden Eagles in all 3 games. On Apr 13, the Buffaloes marked its 3rd straight loss. It's in the game against the Hawks despited a 2 run homer by Alex Cabrera and a homer by T Okada. The losing streak was ended the next day with another homer by T Okada and a 2 run homer by Greg LaRocca who had a broken finger. The Buffaloes lost on Apr 15.
On Apr 9, the Hawks Toshiya Sugiuchi shut out the Fighters. But the Fighters won the next 2 games against the Hawks. The Marines unknown player who suddenly had to pinch hit, cTakumi Kobe homered a 3 run, and with that beat the Lions on Apr 9. The Lions won the next game, but the Marine won again on Apr 11. The Golden Eagles lost to the Buffaloes homers on Apr 9, but won on good pitching by Hisashi Iwakuma followed by Masahiro Tanaka the next 2 days.
The Hawks Nobuhiko Matsunaka blasted a 2 run home run to defeat the Marines on Apr 6. Lost the next day due to the poor performance by its starting pitcher.Its exploded on Apr 8 with homers by Yuichi Honda and Jose Ortiz. The Lions Takayuki Kishi shut out the Buffaloes on Apr 6. In the next game, Hiroyuki Nakajima blasted. Last year's home run king, Takeya Nakamura slammed his first home run this season. But the lost the last of the 3. The Golden Eagles won 2 games in a row from Apr 6, but lost the 3rd to the Fighters.
From Apr 2, the Buffaloes lost its competitive edge. The Marines Kim Tae-Kyun blasted with home runs and beat the Buffaloes in all 3 games. The Fighters Yu Darvish won his first game on Apr 3 against the Lions. The Lions won the next day with 2 homers by Dee Brown. The Golden Eagles beat the Hawks on Apr 2, but lost the next 2 games despite its ace pitchers started.
On Apr 1, the Buffaloes game was rained out. The Marines 36 year old pitcher Hidetaka Kawagoe won his first game in 2 years beating the Golden Eagles. The Hawks beat the Lions 11 to 5.
League standing as of April 30
1.Chiba Lotte Marines
2.Seibu Lions
3.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
4.Orix Buffaloes
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Nippon Ham Fighters
March
From Mar 30, the Buffaloes beat the Fighters in 2 games.
The Fighters also defeated the Hawks in 2 games.
The Marines beat the Golden Eagles in the first game and lost the next in which its pitchers
were in a mess walking one after another.
On Mar 26, the Marines rookie Takashi Ogino slammed a 2 run homerun to help his team beat the Fighters 9 to 1.The next day, Yu Darvish started for the Fighters, but the game ended a tie. On Mar 28 the Marines won on Kim Tae-Kyun's 2 RBI. On Mar 26, led by Alex Cabrera's 2 run home run, the Buffaloes blasted and defeated the Hawks 16 to 1. The next day So Taguchi homered his first since rejoining the Buffaloes after leaving MLB but his team lost. On Mar 28 Hiroshi Kisanuki who joined the Buffaloes from the Giants started for the first time. He pitched well and the Buffalows beat the Hawks. The Golden Eagles starter on Mar 27 was Hisashi Iwakuma. But the team lost again, it's to the Lions. The next day the Golden Eagles on its first game of the season on Naoto Watanabe's 10th inning RBI.
The Buffaloes Alex Cabrera was starting for his team from Mar 21. He suddenly slammed a 2 run home run. He homered too the next day. The team lead by new manager Akinobu Okada formerly with the Tigers won the first 3 opening games in a row for the first time in 10 years by defeating the Golden Eagles. The Fighters managed to win one game from the Hawks on Mar 22 with its new 41 year old pitcher Masao Kida taking the win. The Marines won 2 games from the Lions including a 11 strike out over the distance victory by Yuki Karakawa.
Last year's league champion's opening pitcher was again Yu Darvish.But he gave up 5 runs. His team lost to the Hawks on Mar 20. The good news for the Fighters was, high school baseball star Sho Nakata started for the team for the first time and hit in 2 runs. The Golden Eagles starter was ace Hisashi Iwakuma. He only gave up a run, but his opposing pitcher Chihiro Kaneko did better shutting out the Eagles. The Lions won with homeruns by Hiroyuki Nakajima and new American player Dee Brown against the Marines.
League standing as of March 31
1.Orix Buffaloes
2.Chiba Lotte Marines
2.Seibu Lions
4.Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
5.Rakuten Golden Eagles
6.Nippon Ham Fighters
LAST SEASON CHAMPION: Nippon Ham Fighters
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
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