For the second straight time, the Japan Series will have the same matchup two years in a row. In 2019 and 2020, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks swept the Yomiuri Giants in the finals. Last year, and again in 2022, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Orix Buffaloes are the last two teams standing. And if last year is any indication, we are in for a treat in the next couple of weeks!
Central League
Yakult Swallows vs. Hanshin Tigers (Meiji Jingu Stadium)
Game 1: Yasuhiro Ogawa vs. Yuki Nishi
The Swallows went deep twice: once in the first inning (a 3-run blast by Jose Osuna) and again in the sixth (a 2-run job by Domingo Santana). Ogawa cruised on the mound, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing just an RBI single in the sixth inning. The lengthy break did nothing to slow down the defending champs.
Final Score: Swallows 7, Tigers 1
Game 2: Cy Sneed vs. Shintaro Fujinami
The Tigers struck first, plating a run in the top of the first inning. In the middle innings, though, they once again flexed their muscles, going yard in each of the 3rd (Munetaka Murakami), 4th (Hideki Nagaoka), and 5th (Jose Osuna). The Tigers managed a couple of late runs but it was not enough.
Final Score: Swallows 5, Tigers 3
Game 3: Keiji Takahashi vs. Koyo Aoyagi
This one had one of the most bizarre plays determine its outcome. The Tigers led 3-0 in the seventh inning (thanks mostly to a Koji Chikamoto bases-loaded single in the 5th), but with two outs, the Tigers’ plans of winning got derailed. With a runner on first and two outs, Aoyagi hit one batter and walked another to load up the bases. A feeble grounder to the right side was fielded by Jefry Marte, who threw the ball into left field. A pitcher change and a walked batter later, Murakami hit a dribbler down the first base line. Pitcher Masumi Hamachi charged the ball, but needed to hurry to make the throw to first. He tried to glove-toss it to the first baseman but instead lobbed it five feet over his head. Bases cleared. Lead surrendered. Series over.
Final Score: Swallows 6, Tigers 3
Pacific League
Orix Buffaloes vs. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Kyocera Dome)
Game 1: Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Shuta Ishikawa
Defending Sawamura Award winner Yamamoto was dealing (8 IP 5 H 10 K) while the Hawks’ pitchers struggled to find the zone. Their eight walks on the night included two with the bases loaded, and slugger Masataka Yoshida hit a home run in the seventh inning to seal the win.
Final Score: Buffaloes 5, Hawks 0
Game 2: Hiroya Miyagi vs. Yugo Bandoh
The teams exchanged single runs in the first and third innings, but last year’s home run king Yutaro Sugimoto, who struggled much of this year, hit a convincing 2-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to help the Buffaloes to their first lead of the game. The Hawks scored one late and had two men on in the ninth but that was as close as they got.
Final Score: Buffaloes 4, Hawks 3
Game 3: Daiki Tajima vs. Kodai Senga
What Yamamoto did to the Hawks on Wednesday, Senga did to the Buffaloes on this night. Through six innings, he only allowed four men to reach base, and thanks to his mates scoring two runs in the top of the first (Alfredo Despaigne with a two-run RBI single), the outcome of this game was never in question. Sweep averted.
Final Score: Hawks 3, Buffaloes 0
Game 4: Taisuke Yamaoka vs. Tsuyoshi Wada
Yoshida once again came through with a big two-home run, this time in the bottom of the fourth to break a scoreless tie. The Hawks caught up in the top of the seventh, thanks to Despaigne’s two-run blast. But in the bottom of the ninth, with closer Livan Moinelo on the mound, the Buffaloes used a single, a walk, and a grounder to put the walkoff run on third base. Left fielder Keita Nakagawa poked a 2-2 slider through the left side of the infield, walking off the series clincher.
Final Score: Buffaloes 3, Hawks 2
The Japan Series starts this Saturday at Meiji Jingu Stadium! Next time we talk, we’ll have reports on Games 1 & 2, plus a brief look at the NPB Draft, which takes place this coming Thursday!
By
Trevor Raichura