2024 Pacific League Climax Series

First Round

vs.

Climax Series First Round (2-1): Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (75-60-8, PL No.2 seed) over the Chiba Lotte Marines (71-66-6, PL No.3 seed)

Overview

The Fighters secured the No. 2 spot of the Pacific League early, and the Chiba Lotte Marines eliminated their opponent for the third spot in the last month of the season. Fighters had the two top sluggers in the league - Chusei Mannami and Franmil Reyes. Their rotation were also strong. They were led by wins leader Hiromi Itoh, while Koki Kitayama and southpaw Takayuki Kato were also solid. The Marines were carried by the "Monster of Reiwa" Roki Sasaki, but their lineup was weak and they needed to use 37-year-old Katsuya Kakunaka as the cleanup hitter.

The Teams

• Managers: Marines: Masato Yoshii | Fighters: Tsuyoshi Shinjo

Series results

Game	Score	Date	Pitchers	Time (ET)
1	Chiba Lotte Marines 2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 0	October 12	Roki Sasaki (0-0) Takayuki Kato (0-0)	2:00 pm
2	Chiba Lotte Marines 2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 3	October 13	Kazuya Ojima (0-0) Shoma Kanemura (0-0)	2:00 pm
3	Chiba Lotte Marines 2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 5	October 14	Atsuki Taneichi (0-0) Koki Kitayama (0-0)	2:00 pm

Results

Game 1 @ Es Con Field Hokkaido

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Marines	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	8	0
Fighters	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
WP: Roki Sasaki (1-0), LP: Takayuki Kato (0-1), SV: Naoya Masuda (1)
Home Runs: LOT - Shogo Nakamura (1), Gregory Polanco (1)

• Attendance: 37,553

Lotte's young Ace Roki Sasaki was the starter of the opener, and he ruled the Fighters. In his 8 innings pitching, Sasaki fanned 9 and he didn't allow an extra-base hit. The Fighters nearly broke through him in the first inning as the first two batters. Daiki Asama and Kotaro Kiyomiya, both drew a walk, but Sasaki struck out Reyes and retired Yuya Gunji to end the inning. Nippon-Ham's starter Takayuki Kato also pitched well, and he only allowed 4 hits in 6 1/3 innings. However, the four hits included two solo homers by Shogo Nakamura and Gregory Polanco, and the Marines shut out their opponent with closer Naoya Masuda's fine pitching.

Game 2 @ Es Con Field Hokkaido

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Marines	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	5	0
Fighters	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	9	0
WP: Sachiya Yamasaki (1-0), LP: Hirokazu Sawamura (0-1)
Home Runs: LOT - Hisanori Yasuda (1), Katsuya Kakunaka (1) NPN - Chusei Mannami (1)

• Attendance: 37,638

It was almost deja vu of the last game. Marines starter Kazuya Ojima blanked the Fighters in the first 6 innings, and Hisanori Yasuda - who didn't hit any homers in the regular season - crushed a solo shot in the 5th inning. Just as in the last game, Lotte blasted a solo home run again in the 7th inning, and this time it was veteran Katsuya Kakunaka. However, Ojima issued two walks to Franmil Reyes and Gunji, then Ariel Martinez drove in the first run for the Fighters with a grounder. In the 9th inning, the Marines again sent Masuda to the mound, and he struck out Reyes first. The Fighters were two outs from elimination, then Mannami crushed a game-tying solo home run. Former Major Leaguer Hirokazu Sawamura struck out the first two batters he faced in the 10th inning, but he walked Go Matsumoto, and Kiyomiya added a single. Pinch-hitter Asama then hit a walk-off single, and the Fighters had tied the series.

Game 3 @ Es Con Field Hokkaido

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Marines	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	2
Fighters	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	1	X	5	7	0
WP: Ryusei Kawano (1-0), LP: Atsuki Taneichi (0-1), SV: Naoki Miyanishi (1)
Home Runs:

• Attendance: 37,478

Fighters still kept their ace Hiromi Itoh, and Koki Kitayama was the starter of the win or go homer game. The Marines was the first to score due to Atsuki Tomosugi's RBI infielde single after Toshiya Satoh's double, and they added a run with Takashi Ogino's sacrifice fly. The Fighters tied the game soon, Tatsuki Mizuno hit a single in the 3rd inning, Go Matsumoto walked and Kotaro Kiyomiya hit a 2-run double. Out of expectation, Nippon-Ham's closer Seigi Tanaka succeeded Kitayama in the 4th inning, and he completed 1 2/3 shutout inning. On the other hand, Lotte's manager Yoshii decided to let his starter Taneichi pitched the 7th inning, and the Fighters punished him. Taneichi walked Chusei Mannami and made an error on Yuya Gunji's grounder. He forced Daigo Kamikawabata ground into a double play, but he then gave up a walk to Yua Tamiya. Mizuno then drove in two runs with a triple, and the result was determined. Setup man Naoki Miyanishi took the save with a shutout inning, and the Fighters advanced to the final stage.

Final Stage

vs.

Climax Series Final Stage (4-0): Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (91-49-3, PL No.1 seed) over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (75-60-8, PL No.2 seed)

Overview

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks added PL home run king Hotaka Yamakawa, and they grabbed more than 90 wins in a season. That was their 5th pennant in past 10 years.

The Teams

• Managers: Hawks: Hiroki Kokubo | Fighters: Tsuyoshi Shinjo

Series results

Game	Score	Date	Pitchers	Time (ET)
1	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 2 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 5	October 16	Hiromi Itoh (0-0) Kohei Arihara (0-0)	6:00 pm
2	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 2 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 7	October 17	Takayuki Katoh (0-1) Livan Moinelo (0-0)	6:00 pm
3	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 2 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 3	October 18	Sachiya Yamasaki (0-0) Carter Stewart (0-0)	6:00 pm

Results

Game 1 @ PayPay Dome

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Fighters	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	7	0
Hawks	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	x	5	11	0
WP: Kohei Arihara (1-0), LP: Hiromi Itoh (0-1), SV: Roberto Osuna (1)
Home Runs: NPN - Franmil Reyes (1), FKA - Kenta Imamiya (1), Ryoya Kurihara (1), Hotaka Yamakawa (1)

• Attendance: 40,142

Hiromi Itoh was preserved in the first round, and he started against his former teammate Kohei Arihara. Arihara hadn't got a win versus the Fighters in the regular season this year, but he pitched well in this game. He only allowed two runs in 7 solid innings. The first run was because of Kota Yazawa's lucky infield hit, and another run was a solo shot from Franmil Reyes. Itoh struggled as he allowed three consecutive hits in the third inning, so he gave up his first run. Kento Kawase then hit a single in the next inning, and Hotaka Yamakawa drove in a run with a timely double. The Hawks added three insurance runs with three solo home runs - Kenta Imamiya in the 4th inning, Ryoya Kurihara in the 5th inning and Yamakawa in the 8th inning. Roberto Osuna completed a shutout inning with 2 strikeouts, and the Hawks got a 2-0 lead.

Game 2 @ PayPay Dome

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Marines	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	0
Buffaloes	3	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	X	7	11	0
WP: Livan Moinelo (1-0), LP: Takayuki Katoh (0-2)
Home Runs: FKA - Kensuke Kondoh (1), Hotaka Yamakawa 2 (3)

• Attendance: 40,142

The Fighters had a lack of starters, so Takayuki Katoh was forced to start after getting only four days to rest. The Fighters broke through against PL ERA title winner Livan Moinelo first. Leadoff hitter Chusei Mannami hit a double, and Kotaro Kiyomiya added a RBI double. However, Kato struggled as he gave up two hits, then Kensuke Kondoh crushed a 2-run shot. Fighters soon got a run with Yua Tamiya's single, but the Hawks then added a run with Ukyo Shuto's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Moinelo then completed 5 shutout innings, and Yamakawa proved why he was this year's PL home run king. He crushed two homers, in the 5th and 7th innings, and the Hawks were only a win shy from returning to the Nippon Series.

Game 3 @ PayPay Dome

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Fighters	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	1
Hawks	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	x	3	7	1
WP: Carter Stewart (1-0), LP: Sachiya Yamasaki (0-1), SV: Roberto Osuna (2)
Home Runs: NPN - Torai Fushimi (1)

• Attendance: 40,142

The Hawks broke through against Nippon-Ham's starter Sachiya Yamasaki in the first inning. Jeter Downs hit a leadoff single, then Hotaka Yamakawa and Kensuke Kondoh hit back-to-back doubles and gave the Hawks a 2-run lead. The Fighters roared back soon as Torai Fushimi crushed a solo home run in the 3rd inning, Kazunari Ishii added a single and Chusei Mannami tied the game with a timely hit. Kondoh started Softbank's offense in the 4th inning with a single, then Kenta Imamiya completed a sacrifice bunt. Kotaro Kiyomiya then made an error, and Ukyo Shuto took back the lead for the Hawks with a RBI single. Carter Stewart completed 5 innings, and four Hawks relievers - Shuto Ogata, Kazuki Sugiyama, Darwinzon Hernández and Roberto Osuna - struck out half of the batters they faced. Osuna notched the save, and the Hawks advanced to the Nippon Series.