2013 SEASON IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE

Last update October 19, 2013

Climax Series
2nd stage: Yomiuri Giants vs Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Toshiya Sugiuchi started for the Giants on Oct 18. For the Carp, Yusuke Nomura. Shinnosuke Abe hit in a equalizing RBI. Then with Hayato Sakamoto's hit, the Giants took the lead. Kentaro Nishimura closed the game. The Giants won 3 to 1, and advanced to the Japan Series.

Carp's ace pitcher Kenta Maeda started on Oct 17 and for the Giants rookie Tomoyuki Sugano. In the 3rd inning the Giants Takayuki Terauchi blasted a 3 run home run. Sugano hurled over the distance to shut out the Carp.

The Giants played with a one game advantage from on Oct 16. Its starting pitcher, Tetsuya Utsumi. For the Carp it's Kan Otake. In the 2nd inning, Shuichi Murata's bad fielding has cause the Giants to lose runs. Hayato Sakamoto slammed a equalizing home run. Murata hit in a run to make up for his error. The Giants won 3 to 2.

1st stage: Hanshin Tigers vs Hiroshima Toyo Carp
On Oct 13, Tigers Tsuyoshi Nishioka homered. Carp equalized on Kila Ka'aihue's RBI. On Brad Eldred's RBI, Carp took the lead and beat the Tigers again to proceed to the 2nd stage of Climax Series.

The starter for the Tigers in the first game on Oct 12 was a surprise . It's rookie Shintaro Fujinami. For the Carp, ace pitcher Kenta Maeda. Carps Kila Ka'aihue slammed a 3 run home run. Carp won 8 to 1.

October
The Swallow Wladmir Balantine hit his 60th home run on Oct 4, but his team lost against the on Oct 3. The Giants played its last game of the regular season on Oct 8 and beat the Swallows on Shuichi Murata's game winning double.

The Giants played against the Swallows from Oct 1. The Giants won the first and 3rd games On Oct 3, ranks for this season was finalized. The Tigers clinched 2nd and the Carp came in 3rd, thus advancing to the Climax Series.

Season's final standing
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Yakult Swallows

September
The Swallows Wladimir Balantine slammed his 59th home run on Sept 30. Meanwhile the BayStars Tony Blanco extend his runs batted in with a 3 run and 2 run homers breezing ahead of Balantine.

Since clinching the pennant league, the Giants have played badly. From Sept 24, its lost the first 2 games to the Swallows, winning just the 3rd. It lost to the Dragons on Sept 28, then against the Carp the next day.

The Giants needed to win at most 1 game to clinch the pennant. On Sept 21 it lost to the Carp. But the next day, as the Tigers lost to the Swallows, its pennant win was secured. The celebration took place after its victory against the Carp in which Tomoyuki Sugano started and won the game. It's the Giants 2nd league victory 2 seasons in a row. The Giants won the 3rd game too. Meanwhile the Tigers secured its place in the Climax Series, by winning on Sept 23.

The Giants played close games against the Dragons from Sept 17. It won the first on Shinnosuke Abe's 2 run homerun. It lost the 2nd,and won the last with RBIs by Abe and Shuichi Murata. The Tigers lost 2 of 3 games against the Carp. The Swallows won the first 2 games against the BayStars with Wladimir Balantine adding another homerun, but lost the 3rd.

In the only game on Sept 13, the Tigers beat the Swallows.The Swallows won the next day. Jingu Stadium was filled with fans awaiting for the home run Japan record to be broken. On Sept 15, Wladimir Balantine not only broke the record. He went for more, slamming his 57th. The Giants lost all 3 games played against the Carp from Sept 14. The BayStar won the first and 3rd game against the Dragons.

The Giants defeated the BayStars in all 3 games from Sept 10. The Tigers tied against the Dragons in the first game, and lost the next 2. The Carp won all 3 games against the Swallows. Meanwhile the Swallows Wladimir Balantine homered his 55th this season, tying with the Japan record held by Sadaharu Oh and 2 others.

The Tigers Takashi Toritani blasted a 3 run home run to beat the Giants on Sept 6 but the next day, the Giants won. The Swallows beat the Dragons in the 1st and the third game from Sept 6. The BayStars won the first game against the Carp, lost the next day on Brad Eldred's home run.

The Giants played against the Swallows only on Sept 3 in which the game tneded a tie. The Tigers beat the BayStars on Sept 3 but the BayStars won on Tatsuhiko Kinjo's 3 run home run the next day and tied in the 3rd game. The Carp's Kenta Maeda won his 12th game on Sept 4, pitching against the Swallows.

The Giants and the Dragons finished the game on Sept 1 a draw. The Carp beat the Tigers on Yoshihiro Maru's home run. The BayStars defeated the Swallows.

Standing as of September 30
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Yakult Swallows

August
The Giants Shuichi Murata hit well helping his team defeat the Dragons on Aug 30. But even though he contributed the next day too, the Giants lost. The Swallows beat the BayStars on Aug 30, but lost the next. The Tigers lost its 4th game in a row on Aug 30, that's in the game against the Carp.

The Giants played against runner up, the Tigers from Aug 27. It won all 3 games. The biggest contribution camer from Shuichi Murata. The Swallows Wladimir Balentien is amazing. He homered twice on Aug 27 against the Dragons, although his team lost. He homered again the next day but his team lost again and on Aug 29 as well. The BayStars lost the first game against the Carp, but won the next 2.

The Giants lost the game on Aug 23 against the BayStars but won the following day on Hayato Sakamoto's 3 run home run, then the day after that including a grand slam by Jose Lopes. The Tigers won all 3 games against the Dragons. The Carp won the first 2 against the Swallows but not the 3rd. Then next day 42 year old Shinya Miyamoto, former Samura Japan captain announced he was retiring at the end of the season.

The Giants won the first game against the Swallows from Aug 20, but lost the next two. The BayStars clinched the lead and defeat the Tigers on Aug 20 in a game it was behind by 7 runs. The next day, the Tigers won. The Carp won the first 2 games against the Dragons and lost the 3rd.

In the 3 game series against the Dragons from Aug 16, the Giants lost the 1st and the 3rd. The Tigers beat the Swallows in all 3 games. The Carp won the first 2 games from the BayStars.

The BayStars Daisuke Miura won his career 160th game by pitching well against the Giants on Aug 13. The Giants won the next game and tied in the 3rd. The Swallows clinched the game on Aug 13 on Yuuhei Nakamura's RBI against the Dragons. The Swallows won the next game too, but lost on Aug 15 to Motonobu Tanishige's RBI. The Carps Kenta Maeda won his 10th game defeating the Tigers on Aug 13. The Carp won the next game, but lost the 3rd in which Matt Murton blasted a 2 run home run.

The Giants beat the Carp on Aug 9, tied in the next and won again in the 3rd day on strong pitching by Tomoyuki Sugano. The Dragons won the first game against the Tigers but lost the next 2. The Swallows clinched the game from the BayStars on Aug 10. The BayStars consecutive loss was ended at 9 the next day.

The Giants shut out the BayStars on Aug 6 and won the next 2 games too. The Carp's Yoshihiro Maru finished the game with a home run against the Tigers in the first game at home when the world took time to remember the first a-bombed city. The Tigers clinched the next 2 games. The Swallows won all 3 games against the Dragons.

The Giants faced the Tigers from Aug 2. The Tigers won the first game in which Jason Standridge shut out the Giants by hurling over the distance. The Giants managed to win the next game on Daisuke Nakai's home run. The Tigers won the 3rd game. The Dragons won all 3 games against the BayStars. The Carp won the first game against the Swallows on Yoshihiro Maru's 2 homers. The Swallows won the next with a 2 run homerun by Wladimir Balentien. The Carp won the 3rd.

The Giants clinched the game from the Swallows with an RBI by Yoshinobu Takahashi on Aug 1. The Dragon's Shuhei Takahashi grand slammed for a win over the Tigers. The Carp managed to win against the BayStars.

Standing as of August 31
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Yakult Swallows

July
The Giants extending its winning streak by defeating the Swallows on Jul 30 thanks to Itaru Hashimoto's good arm and hitting. The Giants won the next day too with good pitching and batting by 20 year old Shoki Kasahara The Tigers defeated the Dragons on Jul 30 then lost the next day. The BayStars clinched its 4th win in a row on Jul 30, but lost the next day to the Carp.

The Giants on Jul 26 had base hits after base hits to beat the Dragons. The next day it won on Shuichi Murata's 2 run home run and won on Jul 28 too. The Tigers lost to the BayStars in all 3 games from Jul 26. The Carp clinched the game from the Swallows in the 10th inning on a RBI by Yoshihiro Maru on Jul 26. The Swallows won the next and the Carp won on Jul 28.

After the all star break, the Giants faced the Carp on Jul 24. Hisayoshi Chono slammed a 3 run home run. Yoshinobu Takahashi homered. Shinnosuke Abe had a 2 run to win. But the next day the Giants was clobbered. The Dragons lost the first game to the BayStars Kenjiro Tsuruoka's 2 run home run. The Dragons clinched the next game in the 11th inning. The Tigers Ryota Arai on Jul 24 had a 2 run home run and a grand slam to beat the Swallows. The Swallows won the next game on Wladimir Balentien's 3 run.

The Giants lost to the Dragon 3 games in a row from Jul 12. The Tigers winning streak ended at 6 when it lost against the BayStars on Jul 13. The Tigers won the next day on Ryota Arai's grandslam. The Swallows won the first 2 games against the Carp, but lost the 3rd in which the Carp's ace Kenta Maeda started.

The Giants played in Yamagata against the Swallows from Jul 9 in which Hayato Sakamoto slammed a 2 run home run and Shinnosuke Abe was back playing and blasted a home run. The Giants won the next game on Abe's 2 run home run. The Tigers played in Okinawa for the first time against the Dragons on Jul 9, and won on good batting performance by Takahiro Arai.The Tigers won again the next day on Tsuyoshi Nishioka's 3 run home run. The Carp defeated the BayStars on Jul 9 lost the next but won the third.

On Jul 5 the Giants exploded against the BayStars with homers by Yoshinobu Takahashi, his first, Hayato Sakamoto, and a grand slam by Shuichi Murata. The Giants lost the next game but won the 3rd on a great pitch by Toshiya Sugiuchi. The Tigers defeated the Carp in all 3 games. The Dragons won the first against the Swallows, lost the next on Wladimir Balentien's 2 run home run, but lost the 3rd.

The Giants played against the Tigers from Jul 2. It won in the 11th inning, walked with bases loaded. Next game was rained out, and on Jul 4 the Giants beat the Tigers again. The Carp won the first 2 games against the Dragons from Jul 2 and lost the 3rd. The Swallows Wladimir Balentien homered twice on Jul 2 and beat the BayStars. He homered agin the next day and his team won this and the next game too.

Standing as of July 31
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Yokohama Bay Stars
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
6. Yakult Swallows

June
The Dragons Daisuke Yamai completed a no hitter game on June 28 against the BayStars making him the 77th pitcher to do so. The Dragons won the next day but lost on June 30 to BayStars Norihiro Nakamura's home run and game winning RBI. The Tigers defeated the Carp in the first 2 games while the Carp's Kenta Maeda has his first shut out win on June 30. The Giants lost the the Swallows on June 29, but won the next on Yoshitomo Tani's RBI.

From June 25 the Giants played against the Carp and won the first with RBIs by Kenji Yano and Shuiichi Murata, and the next with hits by Hisayoshi Chono and Shinnosuke Abe's 2 run homer, but lost the 3rd. The Tigers loosing streak was ended at 5 by defeating the Dragons on June 25, Lastings Milledge helpd the Swallows defeat the BayStars the same day with his 2 run home run. Many games were rained out.

Teams were back playing in their respective league from June 21. The Giants played against the Dragons and won the first game on 2 homers by Shinnosuke Abe. But it lost the next 2, including a game to 47 year old pitcher Masa Yamamoto. The Tigers lost to the BayStars in the 2 games its played. The Swallows and the Carp won a game each.

Standing as of June 30
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Chunichi Dragons
4. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
5. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Yakult Swallows

May
The Giants lost an enormous game on May 10 in which the BayStars Hitoshi Tamura homred twice to give his team a win in the 12th inning. The next day the Giants won on Hisayoshi Chono's RBI and on May 12 on Hayato Sakamoto's hit in the 10th inning. The Tigers Randy Messenger hit well and pitched well against the Swallows on May 10 to win his 5th game. The Tigers extended its winning streak to 6 games on May 12. The Dragons won the first 2 games but lost the 3rd against the Carp in which Yoshihiro Maru and Ryosuke Kikuchi grand slammed.

The Giants faced the Tigers from May 6. It lost all 3 games. The BayStars played well against the Carp in the first 2 games, but lost the 3rd. The Dragons Motonobu Tanishige marked his 2000th career hit on May 6 in the game against the Swallows. But his team lost this and the next game.

The Giants defeated the Carp on May 3 with Ryota Wakiya's game winning RBI from the Carp. The next day Hisayoshi Chono grand slammed from the Carp, and starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano won his 4th game. On May 5, the Giants celebrated with a victorious home run by Jose Lopez after Hideki Matsui's retirement ceremony and his and Shigeo Nagashima's People Honorary Award ceremony. The Tigers overwhelmed the Swallows in the first game, won on Matt Murton's 3 run home run but lost the 3rd. The Dragons won on May 3 on Hector Luna's 3 run home run.The BayStars won the next 2 games. On May 5, Norihiro Nakamura recorded his 2000 hit in Japan.

On May 1, the Giants Shinnosuke Abe slammed a 2 run home run to take his team to a win over the Dragons. The BayStars won on Tatsuhiko Kinjo's home run against the Swallows. The Carp's Kenta Maeda was back and hurled a shut out 7 innings. His team defeated the Tigers.

Standing as of May 31
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
4. Chunichi Dragons
5. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Yakult Swallows

April
The Giants losing streak continued against the Dragons on Apr 29. But managed to win the next day with ace pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi shutting out the Dragons and Shinnosuke Abe slamming a 2 run home run. The Tigers lost the first game against the Carp but won the next with the Tigers blasting with home runs by Ryota Arai and Matt Murton. The Swallows Wladimir Balentien was amazing on Apr 29. He homered 3 times to defeat the BayStars. The next day the BayStars won with homers by Norihiro Nakamura and Tony Blanco.

Suddenly the Giants succumbed to a losing streak from Apr 26. It lost all 3 games against the Swallows. The BayStars lost its 4th game in a row on Apr 26 to the Tigers, but won the next with a home run and RBIs by Tony Blanco. It lost again on Apr 28. The Carp won on Apr 26, lost the next day to the Dragons and won the 3rd game.

The Giants starter Ryosuke Miyaguni contributed with the bat, with an RBI and Hisayoshi Chono homered on Apr 23 to defeat the BayStars. The next day the Giants ace Toshiya Sugiuchi contributed with his base running and a sacrifice fly for an overwhelming win. And won again the 3rd game. The Dragons overwelmed the Tigers on Apr 23 with RBIs by Hirokazu Ibata, lost the next and won the 3rd game. The Swallows ended its losing streak on Apr 23 at 5 defeating the Carp. It won on Apr 25 too with Wladimir Balentien's 3 run home run and Masayoshi Miwa's game winning hit.

The Giants Hayato Sakamoto grand slammed against the Carp on Apr 19. Shinnosuke Abe homered too. The next day the Giants won with a homer by Jose Lopez and Hisayoshi Chono. The Carp won the 3rd gam in the 11th inning. The Tigers beat the Swallows on Apr 19 on Kosuke Fukudome's 2 run homer and a grand slam agains the Swallows. It won the next 2 days. The BayStars defeated the Dragons with Tony Blanco's 3 run home run in the first game, won the next 2 with more homers by Blanco.

The Giants Shinnosuke abe slammed a 3 run home run against the Tigers on Apr 16 to help his team win. Abe homered again in the next game and Shuichi Murata homered twice to win. But lost in the 3rd game on a poor performance by pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura who's just had a divorce. On Apr 16, the Swallows Wladimir Balentien blasted a 2 run homer twice to defeat the Dragons. The Dragons clinched the next 2 games. The BayStars beat the Carp in the 10 inning game on Apr 16 and lost the next 2 however,

The Giants back at the Tokyo Dome from Apr 12 welcomed the Swallows. It won the first game with 2 homers by John Bowker. Then the next day rookie Tomoyuki Sugano won his 2nd game. Then in the 3rd game won on RBIs by Shinnosuke Abe and Bowker. The Tigers Randy Messenger on Apr 12 shut out the BayStars. The Tigers won the next 2 games. The Carp won the first 2 games from the Dragons, but lost the last.

From Apr 9 the Giants played against the Tigers in Koshien. The Tigers Atsushi Nohmi shut out the Giants. The Giants lost for the first time this season. In the next game neither hit in runs. On Apr 11, the Tigers won and kept the Giants from scoring 31 innings in a row. The Dragons Masa Yamamoto became the oldest pitcher ever to record a win on Apr 9 defeating the Swallows. The Swallows won the next day, while the Dragons won on Apr 11 on a 3 run home run by Hector Luna. The BayStars lost the first 2 games against the Carp and on Apr 11, finally won its first game on home ground on Hitoshi Tamura's 2 run homerun.

The Giants faced the Dragons from Apr 5. In the first game it won on Hisayoshi Chono, John Bowker and Kenji Yano's home runs. The next day it won on Jose Lopez's 2 run homer. Then on 7 Apr, Shuichi Murata homered. The Dragons Clark slammed a 3 run homer. Then Shinnosuke Abe homered a 3 run to take the lead. The Giants clinched its 7th win in a row. The BayStars Alex Ramirez helped his team defeat the Swallows on Apr 5 with 2 hits. The next day Ramirez celebrated his career 2000th hit with a homerun and also won the game. On Apr 7, however, the BayStars lost despite 3 homers by Tony Blanco. The Tigers on Apr 5 beat the Carp on Kosuke Fukudome's home run. On Apr 7 the Carp's Kenta Maeda clinched his first win.

From Apr 2, the Tigers played against the Dragons. In this competitive game, Tsuyoshi Nishioka hit in a game winning run. The following day the Dragons Kazuhiro Wada homered to help his team win and the team won the day after too. The Swallows won on Apr 2 and so did it win the next day. The Giants Hayato Sakamoto hit in 3 runs to defeat the BayStars on 3 Apr. The next day John Bowker grand slammed and Jose Lopez singled to win again.

Standing as of April 30
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Hanshin Tigers
3. Yakult Swallows
4. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
5. Yokohama Bay Stars
6. Chunichi Dragons

March
Games opened on Mar 29. The Giants starter was 20 year old Ryosuke Miyaguni. Jose Lopez who played for Seattle Mariners homered. The Carp hit in 2 runs. But the Giants equalized on Shuichi Murata's home run.Ryota Wakiya, back from injury hit in a run to put his team ahead. The Giants won. The next day the teams tied. On Mar 31, ace pitchers of both teams started. For the Giants, Tetsuya Utsumi. For the Carp, Kenta Maeda.Both pitched until the end of the 8th inning giving up a run each. In the 11th inning, the Carp's new played Brad Eldred homered. However, the Giants equalized on Wakiya's RBI. Shinnosuke Abe finished the game with his RBI hit. The Tigers Tsuyoshi Nishioka had 3 hits contributing to the Tigers defeat against the Swallows on Mar 29. But the Tigers lost the next 2 games. The BayStars won its first 2 games against the Dragons, and lost the 3rd in which Motonobu Tanishige had 2 RBI hits.

Final league standing in 2012
1. Yomiuri Giants
2. Chunichi Dragons
3. Yakult Swallows
4. Hiroshima Toyo Carp
5. Hanshin Tigers
6. Yokohama Bay Stars


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