BASEBALL
Hawks tame Lions 4-2 in Pacific League playoffs
The Softbank Hawks downed the Seibu Lions 4-2 in the opening game of the final round of the Pacific League playoffs on Thursday night at Yahoo Dome. After entering the series with an automatic 1-0 lead for winning the pennant, the Hawks are now just two wins away from a berth in the Japan Series.
Left fielder Seiichi Uchikawa put the home team in front with a two-run triple in the third inning, and right fielder Hitoshi Tamura made it 4-0 in the sixth with an infield hit down the third-base line that scored runners from second and third.
Hawks starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada, a 16-game winner during the regular season, threw seven innings of four-hit ball for the victory. His only blemish came on a solo home run by Lions slugger Takeya Nakamura to the deepest part of center field with one out in the eighth.
The two teams meet again at Yahoo Dome on Friday evening.
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5 Comments
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-1
jinjapan
what crap. 1 team goes into the series with 1 win. a gift from the league. who has ever heard of such a thing ??? quite odd. another reason to ignore japanese "adult" baseball. stick with koshien . great competition & heart in those kids.
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multitasker
Well, I didn
t mind it when my tream, the Lions, had the 1 game advantage, but its still ridiculous. Why not force the 2nd or 3rd place team to play 1 player less, or bat the other way?? (sarcasm!) Id say Lions have no hope, unless they can win 2 straight. Dont know how Marines did it, but it`s pretty rare. (Oh, I think it was the Giants or Hawks? who complained after winning the pennant, but lost the series.) Ohhh, what about having ALL home games??? Sometimes this "league" really has its head up its collective blowhole!0
Tel Porter
Its fair enough, they finished top of their league so its only rightful that they get an advantage for coming first.
If you're a team that finishes 2nd or 3rd, then you should have to work that little bit harder to earn a berth in the Japan series. If you're good enough, it can be done, as we saw last year.
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multitasker
Adios, Lions! It was fun while it lasted. Damn Matsunaka!
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pawatan
mulititasker
My Miracle Marines did it because they were awesome. First and only time it's been done.
Tel Porter
Exactly. You should get all sorts of advantages from winning your league.
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