Yokohama DeNA BayStars infielder Shugo Maki made some fine defensive plays in the Central League Climax Series. On Monday, October 21 it was his bat that made the difference.
The Yokohama captain drove in the winning run in the ninth inning at Tokyo Dome to lift the BayStars to a 3-2 win over the Yomiuri Giants in Game 6 of the CLCS Final Stage.
Yomiuri began the series with an automatic one-win advantage, which is given to the pennant winner in both leagues.
The BayStars won the series 4-3.
As a result, Yokohama will play the Pacific League champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the best-of-seven Japan Series beginning on Saturday, October 26 at Yokohama Stadium.
Yokohama will be heading to the Japan Series for the first time since 2017 when it was defeated four games to two by the Hawks.
On Monday, Maki broke a ninth-inning tie with a clutch two-out single to left off Yomiuri veteran Tomoyuki Sugano, scoring Keito Mori from third base.
"After I reached first base, I looked at the bench and saw nothing but happy faces," Maki said, according to Sports Nippon. "I felt how lucky I was."
Sugano, a veteran starter who has expressed an interest in moving to the major leagues, came on in the eighth inning looking to close out the game for the Central League champions.
But Maki's clutch hit spoiled Yomiuri's bid to come all the way back from a 3-1 series deficit.
"We had three wins in a row, then two losses," Maki was quoted as saying by Sports Nippon. "I'm glad we were able to hang in there and win in such a tight situation."
BayStars Slam the Door on Giants' Title Hopes
DeNA closer Kohei Morihara retired Makoto Kadowaki and Yoshihiro Maru in the bottom of the ninth before getting Kazuma Okamoto to fly out to center to end the game.
"My players battled to the end," Yokohama manager Daisuke Miura said, according to Kyodo News. "After we missed the league title, we got ourselves prepared to win the Climax Series and go for the Japan Series championship."
Yokohama reliever Hiromu Ise picked up the win after holding Yomiuri scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings. Sugano was saddled with the loss.
BayStars catcher Yasutaka Tobashira was named series MVP. He hit .346 with one home run and six RBIs. His homer broke up Haruto Inoue's perfect-game bid in the sixth inning in Game 4 on October 19.
How the BayStars Reached the Japan Series
The BayStars (71-69-3) finished third in the Central League standings and nobody gave them much of a chance when they began the postseason on the road against the defending Japan Series champion Hanshin Tigers.
But Miura's men swept the Tigers in two straight games at Koshien Stadium in the best-of-three first stage to advance to the second stage against the Central League champion Giants. All six games were played at Tokyo Dome.
Although the Giants had an automatic one-win advantage, the BayStars took a commanding 3-1 series lead by winning the first three games by scores of 2-0, 2-1 and 2-1.
Yomiuri fought back to win the next two games, 4-1 and 1-0, and force the decisive sixth game.
In Monday's game, the Giants jumped out to a 2-0 lead but the BayStars tied it in the fifth on RBI hits by Mori and Mike Ford.
Hawks Sweep Fighters in the PL Climax Series Final Stage
The Hawks wrapped up their second stage series against the Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters in quick order, winning all three games at Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka.
Ukyo Shuto drove in the go-ahead run on a single in the fourth inning as the Hawks beat the Fighters 3-2 on Friday, October 18 to advance to their first Japan Series berth in four years.
Hotaka Yamakawa and Kensuke Kondoh hit back-to-back two-out doubles as the Hawks took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
"Yamakawa has been the difference for us," SoftBank manager Hiroki Kokubo said, according to Kyodo News. "Kondoh, too, came back from a leg injury to contribute."
Carter Stewart Jr picked up the win after striking out three and giving up two runs on four hits over five complete innings.
As league champions, the Hawks began the six-game series with a one-win advantage and swept the next three games to advance.
Hawks Displayed Superiority Against Fighters
The Hawks, who had the best record in all of Japanese baseball with 91 wins, 49 losses and three ties for a winning percentage of .650, were just too strong for the Fighters.
Their two ace pitchers, Kohei Arihara and Livan Moinelo, won Games 1 and 2, respectively, with strong performances.
Yamakawa, who led NPB with 34 homers in the regular season, hit two homers in the second game, a 7-2 win, and one in the first, a 5-2 win.
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Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.
