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The Yakult Swallows eliminated the Yomiuri Giants from the Central League Climax Series with a 3-1 victory at Meiji Jingu Stadium on Monday night. Next up for Yakult is a showdown with league-leading Chunichi Dragons in the series’ Final Stage.
One night after hammering the Swallows’ pitching staff for six runs, the Giants managed just six hits off starter Katsuki Akagawa and a pair of relievers. Yakult catcher Ryoji Aikawa homered in the bottom of the third to put the home team ahead against Yomiuri starter Dicky Gonzalez, and shortstop Ryosuke Morioka and left fielder Kazuki Fukuchi added RBI singles in the seventh and eighth innings to give Yakult its first series victory since the current postseason format was adopted in 2007.
The Giants’ lone run came on a one-out home run in the top of the ninth by first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara.
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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TigersTokyoDome
That news almost makes up for Hanshins poor season.
genji17
Go Swallows!!!!
pawatan
I knew I was in a good mood this morning for a reason.
And Lotte's!
paulinusa
Baseball in November!
pawatan
Nippon Series won't finish up until 19 November or so. It can't be helped because of the earthquake and the late start to the season. Of course, last year it finished the first week in November with no such disaster.
hoserfella
Someone should tell the fools who name these things (climax series, BJ league etc) how ridiculous they sound. They name them in English to be more "international" so why don't they ask a few actual native speakers as to what doesn't sound like a sex act?? Then again maybe they did but asked a couple of bored teenaged boys...
multitasker
Or maybe they wanted to spice up the names... Swallows Advance on Dragons! Lions Devour Sausage! ... I mean Ham....
edojin
Gee ... now that the Giants are out I don't have any meanies to root against. Guess I'll just have to sit back and watch "good, honest" baseball in the rest of the Japanese baseball playoffs.
The same thing happened when those beasts called the New York Yankees bombed out in the Major League playoffs. Luckily, good-playing teams continued showing exciting baseball throughout until the Cardinals ended up on top.
Back to Japanese baseball ... last year a third-place team (the Chiba Lotte Marines) won it all ... and so far this year another third-place team (the Seibu Lions) is looking good. If a third-place team (the Lions) win it all again this month ... look for some changes in the playoff setup in the near future.
pawatan
If you hate the Giants you should hate the Hawks. They are the Pacific League version of the Giants. It's quite comical to watch them fail to make the Nippon Series year after year after year despite way outspending everyone in the PL, though.
multitasker
Watching MLB Playoffs, I heard Selig is thnking of adding more teams to the playoffs. Why? And in Japan, I have read many good ideas, such as having 3 divisions, with 1 wild card. The system now is so silly.
hoserfella
pretty easy, multitasker. More revenue.
BurakuminDes
The team was very active in the BJ League, and then moved on to a tremendous and fluid Climax series. What's wrong with that, hoserfella, perfectly innocent.
BurakuminDes
...or rather "Yakult team Swallowed after Nippon Ham Exploded in the Climax ..."
You shouldn't have started me, hoserfella.
multitasker
Nice pair, BD! I mean headlines. Hoser, Yeah money says it all. btw, are you a Blue Jays oe Expos fan? Pawatan, does that mean youre cheering for the Lions now? Id love to see them play the Swallows in the final. And what happened to Guiel?
multitasker
Here`s my answer for Gueil. http: // yakyubaka.com/2011/09/21/yakult-swallows-aaron-guiel-announces-this-will-be-his-last-year/
pawatan
No, I detest the Lions but I really detest the Hawks. It's far more amusing to see the Lions win and then have the Swallows trounce them. So i guess I am cheering for them but I have ulterior motives!
multitasker
Gotcha! CL Climax starts tonight. How long can it last? 3, 4, 5, or 6 minutes... I mean, nights?
hoserfella
mutitasker - yeah I was an Expos fan back in the day but they broke my heart too many times. The Blue Jays I root for cause theyre a Canadian based team, but thats it. Being from the Maritimes, I'm also a part of Red Sox Nation, so I have a soft spot for them, too.
multitasker
Hoser, you should read Slugging it out in Japan, by Warren Cromartie and Robert Whiting. Very interesting/entertaining. I like the BJs (haha) and Mariners (being from the west coast) and the Red Sox (I was so happy Matsuzaka went there, and not the dreaded Yankees!) Anyway, do you remember the GREAT Expos from the late 70`s? Cro, andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Steve Rogers, Bill Lee, etc.. Ok, I am feeling old now!
nath
@multitasker and hoserfella: Those late '70s Expo teams were great, just a shame they had to play in that terrible stadium. They should have stayed at Jarry Park. ;-)
hoserfella
Don't forget Tim Raines (when he wasn't on coke). It was the '94 season that did me in. They had the best team in baseball, were gonna finally win it all, and then go on strike. Still makes me ill...
multitasker
Oh yeah, forgot about Raines... and many others. Ahh, Olympic Stadium! I saw a few games when visiting Montreal. We sat in the bleachers for $1, and my friends told me to listen carefully to the young guy selling hotdogs, chips, and peanuts, but with his French Canadian accent, it sounded like "hotdogs, sheep`s pemis!" Good times!