The 2014 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2014'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th edition of

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

. The

best-of-seven playoff There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly ...

was won by the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

champion

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

in five games over the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

champion

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

. The series began on Saturday, October 25, 2014 and ended on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at the

Fukuoka Dome The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium was originally named and has the capacity of 38,585 seats. With a diameter of 216 meters, the Fukuoka PayPay Dome is the world's largest geodesic dome. T ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

Climax Series

Summary

Game summaries

Game 1

After three scoreless innings, the

took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Hiroki Uemoto is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He has played in his entire career with the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. Early baseball career Uemoto attended Koryo High School, where his team participated in th ...

hit a single into center field then moved to second on a groundout by

Takashi Toritani is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball(NPB). He previously played with the Hanshin Tigers. Toritani was one of the most highly coveted position players in years as a senior ...

Mauro Gómez Mauro Alexis Gómez Acosta (born September 7, 1984) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman. Career Texas Rangers Gómez signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent on March 24, 2003. In 2004, he made his ...

then drove Uemoto in with an RBI double off of

' starting pitcher

Jason Standridge Jason Wayne Standridge (born November 9, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career Standridge made his major league debut with the Tampa B ...

. Standridge lasted until the fifth inning where he loaded the bases with two outs. Gómez,

Matt Murton Matthew Henry Murton (born October 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies. Murton also played in Nippon Professional ...

and

Kosuke Fukudome is a retired Japanese professional baseball outfielder. He previously played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2012, primarily with the Chicago Cubs and had a long spanning career in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Chunichi D ...

then connected for three consecutive hits scoring the Tigers' remaining five runs. Tigers' starting pitcher

Randy Messenger Randall Jerome Messenger (born August 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, best known for his time with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. He is tall and weighs . He made his Major League debut on June 2 ...

pitched through the seventh inning and got the win. Messenger loaded the bases twice in the sixth inning but was able to hold them to only one run on a Lee Dae-ho sacrifice fly. He was touched up again in the seventh innings for one run on a

Yuki Yanagita , nicknamed "Gita (ギータ)", is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He is an eight-time All-Star and a two-time Pacific League MVP, earning those honors in and . Yanagita has won six Japan Series ch ...

RBI single but the two runs weren't enough to overcome the Hawks' six-run deficit.

Game 2

In Game 2, Hawks' starter

Shota Takeda is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Professional career On October 27, 2011, Takeda was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as their first overall pick in the 201 ...

earned a win by giving up only one run in seven innings pitched. Retiring the first 17 batters he faced, Takeda had a perfect game going into the sixth inning until he gave up a two-out single. Also in that inning,

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chiba Lotte Marines and Hanshin Tigers, as well as Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins. Nishioka played in the 2006 ...

's double drove in the Tigers only run of the game. Relief pitchers

Ryota Igarashi is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and New Y ...

and

Dennis Sarfate Dennis Scott Sarfate (born April 9, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Saitama Seibu L ...

followed up Takeda by pitching scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively. The scoring began in the top of the first inning when the Hawks' Yuki Yanagita singled to center and reached second on a

Kenta Imamiya is a Japanese professional baseball shortstop for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is the Pacific League record holder for Sacrifice bunt, sacrifice bunts. Early baseball career Imamiya attended Meiho High S ...

sacrifice bunt. A double by

Seiichi Uchikawa is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama BayStars and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Career Yokohama BayStars ...

then drove in Yanagita giving the Hawks the lead before Takeda ever took the mound. The Hawks got an important insurance run in the fourth inning when Lee Dae-ho hit a home run to score what would prove to be the game-winning run.

Game 3

The Hawks took a two-games-to-one lead in the Series behind a dominant pitching performance by starter

Kenji Otonari , nicknamed "Tonarin", is a former Japanese baseball pitcher. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Otonari was drafted in 2007 and made his first starts late in the year as the Hawks prepared for the playoffs. His first start was an Int ...

. Pitching seven shutout innings, Otonari gave up only three hits, while striking out six and walking one. For the second straight game the Hawks scored a run in the first inning. Just like in Game 2, Yanagita led off the first inning with a hit, was moved ahead by a sacrifice bunt, and then was driven in by a double from Uchikawa. Later, when Yuki Yoshimura drew a walk to start the bottom of the fourth inning, he was bunted to second and then scored from there on a wild pitch thrown by

Shintaro Fujinami is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. Amateur career Fujinami started playing Little League Bas ...

. The scoring continued in the sixth when Uchikawa collected another RBI along with two more from Lee. The only scoring for the Tigers occurred in the ninth inning when Toritani drove in a run on an RBI single off of reliever Sarfate.

Game 4

Game 5

The game remained scoreless until the 8th inning. With tiring Hanshin starter Randy Messenger still in the game, runners were on 1st and 3rd with two out and SoftBank 3rd baseman

Nobuhiro Matsuda is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks On November 18, 2005, Matsuda was draf ...

at the plate. With a full count and runners off with the pitch, Matsuda lined a single to center field on the 8th pitch of the at-bat, which scored

. In the top of the 9th, SoftBank closer Sarfate loaded the bases with 1 out and Hanshin shortstop

at-bat. Nishioka hit a ground ball to first. The ball was cleanly fielded and thrown to SoftBank catcher Toru Hosokawa for the force out at home. Hosokawa then quickly threw back to first to try and complete the double play that would end the game. However, his throw went wide. The error allowed Hanshin to score the tying run, but the umpires convened after Hosokawa protested the play. Nishioka was called out on interference, which completed the double play and ended the game with a 1-0 score line.

References

{{Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Japan Series 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball season 2014 in baseball Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Hanshin Tigers