NPB: Softbank Hawks will face Hanshin Tigers in Japan Series

Today the decisive seventh game in the Pacific League’s Climax Series was played between the Softbank Hawks and the Nippon Ham Fighers (Nippon Ham is the owner of the club. I always thougth that the club’s name was Ham Fighters).

This game wasn’t a walk over but the Fighters never came close in winning it, except for the ninth inning. The team from Sapporo stranded ten runners. The Softbank Hawks took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Kenji Akashi hit a leadoff double down the left field line followed by a single into right field by Seiichi Uchikawa on which Akashi scored the opening run. Uchikawa advanced to second base on the throw towards homeplate.
Fighters starting pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa was helped by a double play for outs nr. 1 and 2.  When Uwasawa walked the next batter he was replaced y reliever  Yohei Kagiya, who promptly gave up a bloop single to right field on which the second run was scored.

In the fifth inning,  Toro Hosokawa drove Kagiya’s second pitch into the left field stands to make it 3-0
Hosokawa launched Kagiya’s 1-0 fastball into the stands in left. Dae Lee eventually sealed the Fighters’ fate when he hit an RBI double in the eighth inning.

All Nippon Ham could do was scoring a run in the ninth.

Winning pitcher was Kenji Otonari while Naoyuki Uwasawa took the loss.

It is the third trip to the Japan Series in the last five years, so you can say that the Hawks are one of the most steady clubs in Japanese baseball lately.