We have a new champion, ladies and gentlemen! For the first time in two decades, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the Japan Series! It was an extremely exciting series to watch, to say the least. Before we get to the recaps, one quick bit of news. Twenty-three-year-old Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the unanimous choice as the recipient of the Eiji Sawamura Award, the league announced last Monday. Yamamoto went 18-5 with a 1.39 ERA and 206 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings.
Game 3: Tuesday, November 23 @ Tokyo Dome
Starting Pitchers: Daiki Tajima (Buffaloes) vs. Yasuhiro Ogawa (Swallows)
The Buffaloes got to play with a lead for the first time this series when Tajima escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the second, and then Yuma Mune knocked in a run in the top of the third. Their lead lasted just two innings, though. In the bottom of the fifth, aided by a couple of walks and an error, they scored three runs on a Yuhei Nakamura single to center. Buffaloes slugger Yutaro Sugimoto tied the game up at three in the top of the sixth with a two-run opposite-field home run to right-center. The next inning, Masataka Yoshida smacked an RBI double to left, giving the Buffaloes another lead. However, it was even more short-lived than the first one, as Domingo Santana hit the game-winning, two-run home run to right field in the bottom of the seventh. The Buffaloes got the tying runner in scoring position and the winning runner on base in the top of the ninth but were unable to plate either of them.
Final Score: Swallows 5, Buffaloes 4
Winning Pitcher: Taichi Ishiyama
Losing Pitcher: Ryo Yoshida
Swallows lead series 2-1
Game 4: Wednesday, November 24 @ Tokyo Dome
Starting Pitchers: Soichiro Yamazaki (Buffaloes) vs. Masanori Ishikawa (Swallows)
For the second straight game, Domingo Santana hit a home run to opposite field. This time it was in the bottom of the second, and gave the Swallows a 1-0 lead. Ishikawa cruised through his first five innings, allowing just two base runners during that time. In the top of the sixth, back-to-back singles plus an error by Santana allowed the Buffaloes back into the game, but in the bottom of the same frame, Jose Osuna hit the go-ahead RBI single. Though the Buffaloes put a runner on base in each of the final three frames, none advanced past first.
Final Score: Swallows 2, Buffaloes 1
Winning Pitcher: Masanori Ishikawa
Losing Pitcher: Hirotoshi Masui
Swallows lead series 3-1
Game 5: Thursday, November 25 @ Tokyo Dome
Starting Pitchers: Sachiya Yamasaki (Buffaloes) vs. Juri Hara (Swallows)
The Swallows again drew first blood in the bottom of the second. Santana and Nakamura had back-to-back hits, and Osuna’s double play plated the first run. In the top of the fourth, Yoshida’s double was followed by a Sugimoto RBI single and the game was tied up. However, in the bottom of the inning, Munetaka Murakami hit a solo home run to give the Swallows the lead once again. The Buffaloes tied it in the top of the sixth on a rally that started with an Osuna error and ended with a T-Okada RBI single to right. The Buffaloes took the lead an inning later with a pair of runs: a Ryo Ohta RBI triple and a Steven Moya RBI single. The next inning, they extended the lead on a Torai Fushimi RBI double. All that hard work went for naught when the Swallows tied the game with one swing of the bat. Two walks and a hitter’s count to Tetsuto Yamada… kablamo! Tie game! That’s when things got interesting. Murakami nearly went yard on the very next pitch but instead, the teams went to the ninth inning tied. Pinch hitter Adam Jones, who had been quiet all series, hit a juicy pitch out of the park to keep the Buffaloes’ hopes alive for at least one more game…
Final Score: Buffaloes 6, Swallows 5
Winning Pitcher: Taisuke Yamaoka
Losing Pitcher: Scott McGough
Swallows lead series 3-2
Game 6: Saturday, November 27 @ Hotto Motto Field Kobe
Starting Pitchers: Hirotoshi Takanashi (Swallows) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Buffaloes)
As was the case throughout this entire series, the starters were outstanding. Neither allowed a run through the first four innings. Yamamoto was the first to crack, as a Yasutaka Shiomi single through the left side of the infield plated the opening run. The Buffaloes struck back in the bottom half of the inning. Shuhei Fukuda collected his second hit of the evening and lead runner Kenya Wakatsuki made it safely home. After that, it was back to being a pitchers’ duel. Takanashi’s night ended after that RBI hit, but Albert Suarez, Noboru Shimizu, and Scott McGough shut out the Buffaloes for the game’s final 7 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, Yamamoto threw an incredible 141 pitches and lasted nine innings. Closer Yoshihisa Hirano (former Arizona Diamondbacks reliever) pitched a clean tenth, and a platoon of guys got the Buffaloes through the 11th without allowing a run. Ryo Yoshida took the mound with two outs in the top of the twelfth, and none other than Shiomi got on base on a hit to left. He advanced to second on a passed ball and scored the winning run on pinch-hitter Shingo Kawabata’s single to left. Though the Buffaloes got the game-tying runner on base in the bottom of the inning, he remained pinned there, and the Swallows held on to win.
Final Score: Swallows 2, Buffaloes 1
Winning Pitcher: Scott McGough
Losing Pitcher: Ryo Yoshida
Swallows win series 4-2
So there you have it. The Japan Series MVP was catcher Yuhei Nakamura, who hit .318, played outstanding defense and led the pitchers to a collective 2.08 ERA. Manager Shingo Takatsu was a member of the bullpen on the last Swallows team to win it all (2001), plus three of the previous four Swallows championship teams. Congratulations to the Swallows, their fans, and all NPB fans worldwide, who witnessed one of the most exciting finals in recent history.
By
Trevor Raichura