The 2021 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a set of two consecutive

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

series in

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 ...

(NPB). The First Stage began on November 6 and the Final Stage concluded on November 12. The First Stage was a best-of-three series between the second-place

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 ...

and the third-place

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

. The Final Series was a best-of-six with the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

, 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, being awarded a one-win advantage against the Giants, the winner of the First Stage. The Swallows advanced to the

2021 Japan Series The 2021 Japan Series was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's 2021 season. The 72nd edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the Orix Buffaloes and Tokyo Yakult Swallows, the winners of the Pacif ...

to compete against the Orix Buffaloes, the 2021 Pacific League Climax Series winner.

Background

In 2020, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

delayed the start of the

(NPB) season causing the

(CL) to cancel their Climax Series entirely. The Central League Climax Series (CLCS) returned in 2021, however, as with games during the regular season, no

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

were played due to pandemic restrictions, resulting in games being called draws after nine innings instead of the usual twelve. As always, if a series ended in a tie, the higher-seed team advanced. Additionally, attendance was also limited to the games for safety reasons. Contests held at

Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...

gave groups of up to four people an additional seat to increase spacing between fans. Yakult sold up to approximately 20,000 tickets per game at

Meiji Jingu Stadium The is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team. It also hosts college baseball, inc ...

, with the CLCS Final Stage selected by the government to test the admission of people showing proof of

COVID-19 vaccination A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...

or a negative test result. JERA sponsored the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

for the series, and it was officially known as the "2021 JERA Climax Series CE". The

were in first place for nearly the entire first half of the season. By the last week of the season, the team was involved in the pennant race but ultimately fell short. The

, conversely, struggled at the end of the season. They lost 10-straight decisions in October and fought off the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

for the third and final Climax Series slot. They finished the season with a .496

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, becoming only the sixth team to advance to the Climax Series with a losing record. In the 25 regular season games between Hanshin and Yomiuri, the Tigers defeated the Giants with a record and finished the season 11 games ahead. Previously, the two teams met in the Climax Series a total of four times, twice in the First Stage and twice in the Final Stage with Yomiuri winning three of the four. On October 26, for the second time in their history, the

clinched the CL pennant after finishing in last place the previous season. The championship was their first league title since 2015 and eighth overall. For several games in August and September, Yakult was forced to play their home games in

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

instead of their home stadium of

due to Jingu's proximity to the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

and

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

games. Dramatic improvement to the Swallows pitching played a large part in the team's turnaround. The championship advanced the Swallows directly to the Final Stage of the Climax Series to host the Giants, the eventual winner of the First Stage. The two teams split the season series , with Swallows and finishing 11 games ahead of Yomiuri. Previously, the two teams met in the Climax Series a total of three times, twice in the First Stage, once in the Final Stage, with Yakult winning two of the three.

First Stage

Summary

Game 1

The

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

s for Game 1 were Haruto Takahashi for Hanshin and

Tomoyuki Sugano is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career College career Sugano went to Tokai University, where he had a 37–4 win–loss record and a 0.57 earned run average (ERA). I ...

for Yomiuri. Both pitchers kept the teams scoreless until the fifth inning when

Zelous Wheeler Zelous Lamar Wheeler (born January 16, 1987) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and right fielder. He previously played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Yomiuri Giants and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...

laid down a sacrifice

bunt Bunt may refer to: * Bunt (community), an elite social group from Karnataka, India * Bunt (baseball), a batting technique in baseball * Bunt (sail), a part of a ship's sail * Bunt Island, island in Antarctica * The Bunt, nickname of the Bunting ...

to advance

Yoshihiro Maru is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Career In , Hiroshima Toyo Carp selected him in the third round. He missed time his ...

who eventually scored on a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by Naoki Yoshikawa, giving the Giants the lead. Wheeler added to the lead the next inning when he hit a two-run

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

to put Yomiuri up 3–0. In the eighth inning, Wheeler collected his third

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) with a run-scoring single. Sugano pitched seven scoreless innings for the Giants. The Tigers loaded the bases in the ninth inning with two outs against Giants closer Thyago Vieira, however

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Seishu Hatake induced a line out to earn the save and keep Hanshin scoreless in the loss.

Game 2

After being shutout in the first game of the series, Hanshin opened the scoring in Game 2. Giants starter

Yuki Takahashi is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently races in the All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship aboard a Honda CBR1000RR. For 2009 he made his debut in the MotoGP class, with the Scot Racing Honda team but was subsequentl ...

was taken out of the game in the second inning after

Ryutaro Umeno is a Nippon Professional Baseball catcher for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Central League. Since joining the Tigers, he was given the nickname "Ume-chan", and his accurate throws and strong throwing arm earned his throw the nickname "Ume-chan ba ...

doubled and then scored on a double by Teruaki Sato, giving the Tigers the lead. Hanshin added another run that same inning with an RBI-single by Takumu Nakano. The following inning, the Giants loaded the bases with no outs against Hanshin starter Koyo Aoyagi on an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

and two singles. A single by Seiya Matsubara scored one run, and a two-run single by Maru gave the Giants the lead and prompted Hanshin to remove Aoyagi from the game. A sacrifice fly in the eighth inning by Wheeler added to the Giants lead, making it 4–2. Hanshin again threatened in the ninth inning with two outs when a Jefry Marté single and a Yusuke Oyama walk put the potential tying runs on base, however Vieira struck out Mel Rojas Jr. to end the game and get the save. In total for the game, the Tigers collected 11 hits and five walks but only scored two runs.

Final Stage

Summary

Game 1

To start the bottom of the first inning, Giants starting pitcher Shun Yamaguchi allowed a leadoff double by Yasutaka Shiomi and walked

Tetsuto Yamada is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Yamada made his NPB debut in 2012 with Yakult. He has won the Central League MVP award, has received the Best Nine Award six times, ...

. After advancing to third, Shiomi scored on a Munetaka Murakami flyout into shallow left.

Domingo Santana Domingo Alberto Santana (born August 5, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Bre ...

then hit a two-run home run to extend the Swallows' lead to 3–0. Yakult starter Yasunobu Okugawa went on to pitch a complete game

shut out Shut Out may refer to: * Shutout, a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring * ''Shut Out'' (album), a 1977 album by Paul Jabara * "Shut Out" (song), a 1977 song by Paul Jabara and Donna Summer * "Shutout", a song by The Walk ...

to secure the win. Over the nine-inning game, he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

nine Yomiuri batters and did not issue a walk on 98 pitches. Yakult added one more run to their lead in the seventh inning after Naomichi Nishiura doubled, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Shiomi's second double of the game. The win, along with their one-win advantage, gave the Swallows a 2–0 series lead.

Game 2

Keiji Takahashi is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He is married to former AKB48 member Tomomi Itano. References

1997 births Living people Baseball people from Kyoto Prefecture Japanese base ...

started for the Swallows, while Tomoyuki Sugano started for the Giants. Takahashi worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the first inning and kept Yomiuri scoreless in his six-inning outing. He allowed two hits and walked three batters while striking out eight. Yakult

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", i.e., drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the us ...

Murakami singled to open the second inning and, after two walks, scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly by Nishiura off of Sugano. In the sixth inning, Murakami stretched a singled into a double after the Giants misplayed the ball in the outfield and an error in the infield allowed another runner on with no outs. With two outs and first base open, the Giants

intentionally walked In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

the bases loaded before

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

Shingo Kawabata walked to force in a run. Shiomi then hit a three-run

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

, making it 5–0. Yakult relief pitchers kept the Giants scoreless to complete the two-hit shutout.

Game 3

Juri Hara started for the Swallows, while Cristopher Mercedes started for the Giants. Scoring for the first time in the series, Yomiuri opened the scoring in the third inning against Yakult reliever Yuto Kanakubo. Naoki Yoshikawa walked, advanced to third base on a single by

Yoshiyuki Kamei was a Japanese politician and member of the House of Representatives of Japan representing Kanagawa Prefecture. Biography Yoshiyuki Kamei was born on 30 April 1936. He graduated from Keio University in 1962. He was Ministry of Agricultu ...

, then scored on a sacrifice fly by

Hayato Sakamoto is a Japanese professional baseball shortstop with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In , Sakamoto became the first player in Giants franchise history to start a season opener while under the age of 20 since Hideki Mats ...

. After pitching six scoreless innings, Mercedes was replaced by reliever

Rubby De La Rosa Rubby Nick De La Rosa Corporan (born March 4, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red ...

, who loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning.

Norichika Aoki is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Toro ...

then hit a two-run single off of Giants reliever Kota Nakagawa to give Yakult the lead, 2–1. Yomiuri scored a run next inning against reliever

Noboru Shimizu is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. References

1996 births Living people Baseball people from Tokyo category:Kokugakuin University alumni People from Adachi, Tokyo Japanese bas ...

, but left two runners on base at the end of the inning to leave the game tied. With a tie good enough to ensure a series win, Swallows closer

Scott McGough Scott Thomas McGough (born October 31, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2015. He also played for the Tokyo Yakult Swall ...

got all three Giants batters out in the ninth inning to end the game and the series in favor of Yakult.

References

{{Hanshin Tigers Climax Series Central League Climax Series Central League Climax Series