The 2021 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) was a set of two consecutive playoff series in Nippon Professional Baseball (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 Chiba Lotte Marines and the third-place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. The Final Series was a best-of-six with the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

, the Pacific League champion, being awarded a one-win advantage against the Marines, the winner of the First Stage. The Buffaloes 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 Tokyo Yakult Swallows, the

2021 Central League Climax Series The 2021 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a set of two consecutive playoff series in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The First Stage began on November 6 and the Final Stage concluded on November 12. The First Stage was a best-of-three ...

winner.

Background

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season causing the Pacific League (PL) to cut their Climax Series' First Stage entirely and shorten their Final Stage. The traditional Climax Series format returned in 2021, however, as with games during the regular season, no extra innings 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, game attendance was also limited for safety reasons. Contests held at Zozo Marine Stadium were limited to approximately 15,000 spectators, while games at Kyocera Dome were limited to approximately 18,000. For the fourth year in a row, Persol Holdings sponsored the naming rights for the Pacific League Climax Series, and it was officially known as the "2021 Persol Climax Series PA". The Chiba Lotte Marines made a push for the PL title late in the season, having a chance to win it with three games remaining on their schedule. A loss to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, however, ensured that the Marines finished in second place for the second year in a row and would host the Eagles in the First Stage. During the regular season, intra-league teams play 25 games against each other. Despite winning the last game played to knock the Marines out of pennant contention, the Eagles lost the season series with a record and finished the season 3 games behind Lotte. Previously, the two teams met in the Climax Series only once during the 2013 Final Stage where Rakuten defeated Lotte and went on to win their only Japan Series title. The

clinched the Pacific League pennant on October 27th, their first league title since 1996 and 13th overall. The team finished the previous two seasons in last place and, prior to this year, the 2014 season was the last in which they finished with a winning record. Orix started the season slow, but went on to finish first in interleague play in June. They also won 11 straight winning decisions, their longest streak in 37 years, and spent the majority of the summer in first place. The championship advanced the Buffaloes directly to the Final Stage of the Climax Series to host the Marines, the eventual winner of the First Stage. The two teams split the season series , with Orix and finishing 2.5 games ahead of Lotte. The series was the first time the two teams played each other in the Climax Series.

First Stage

Summary

Game 1

Rōki Sasaki was 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 ...

for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Game 1 of the First Stage. At age 20, Sasaki became the second-youngest player to start a Climax Series game in his postseason debut. He held the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to one unearned run during his six innings, allowing only four hits and walking two. The unearned run, however, resulted from a throwing error Sasaki made in the second inning, allowing Hiroaki Shimauchi to score from second base.

Takahiro Norimoto is a Japanese professional baseball player. He plays for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles In 2013, Norimoto's rookie season, he pitched to a 15-8 win–loss r ...

's start for the Eagles only lasted four innings. Lotte loaded the bases in the third, after

Takashi Ogino Takashi Ogino (荻野貴司, born October 21, 1985, in Asuka, Nara) is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and shortstop for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in ...

singled, Leonys Martín drew a walk, and

Shogo Nakamura , nicknamed "Brave Man", is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a ...

reached first on a ball hit to Norimoto. The Marines took the lead on a 2-run single by Brandon Laird, with

Hisanori Yasuda , nicknamed "Yassan", is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and o ...

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

making the score 3–1. The Eagles were held scoreless until the seventh inning when the Marines brought in relief pitcher Yuki Kuniyoshi. To start the inning, Ryosuke Tatsumi drew a walk and

Hikaru Ohta is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays catcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. References External links

1996 births Living people Baseball people from Okayama Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Profess ...

reached base on a throwing error by Kuniyoshi. Tsuyoshi Yamasaki attempted a

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 the runners, but the attempt was caught by Kuniyoshi who was also able to complete a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

by running to second base. Rakuten went on to draw two more walks to load the bases, and then scored three more runs when Shimauchi doubled off new reliever Yuki Karakawa, putting the Eagles ahead, 4–3. Adeiny Hechavarria tied the game with a solo home run the next inning. Then, in the ninth, Hiromi Oka was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a bunt, and scored on a Toshiya Sato walk-off hit, giving Lotte a 1–0 lead in the series.

Game 2

Starting pitchers were Takayuki Kishi for Rakuten and Kazuya Ojima for Lotte. For the second time in the series, the Eagles scored first. In the second inning,

Daichi Suzuki (born March 10, 1967 in Narashino, Chiba) is a retired Japanese backstroke swimmer. He won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Swimming Suzuki developed the swimming technique called underwater dolphin kick or what is known as ...

doubled and reached home on a single by

Ginjiro Sumitani is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played in NPB for the Saitama Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants. Career Seibu Lions/Saitama Seibu Lions In the 200 ...

. Suzuki was originally called out at home plate, but the call was reversed and the run scored after a video review. Yamasaki collected a run batted in (RBI) later that inning with a single, bringing the score to 2–0. The Marines responded with two singles to start the bottom of the second inning, with Hechavarria scoring Oka while hitting into a double play to cut the Eagles lead to one. Later, in the fourth inning, Hechavarria drew a one-out walk and scored on a double by Koki Yamaguchi, tying the game, 2–2. A home run by Yamaguchi in the sixth inning off of Eagles' reliever Tomohiro Anraku gave Lotte their first lead of the game. However, the next inning, the Eagles evened the score again with a lead off, solo home run by Sumitani and then reclaimed the lead when Yamasaki doubled, advanced to third on a ground out, and scored on a single by Shimauchi. Lotte responded in the bottom of the inning with a two-out, solo home run by Martín to tie the game. Marines' relievers

Chihaya Sasaki is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japa ...

and

Naoya Masuda Naoya Masuda (益田直也, born October 25, 1989, in Kinokawa, Wakayama) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Loca ...

kept Rakuten scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, securing the 4–4 tie. By tying Game 2 after winning the first game, Lotte ensured that the Eagles could do no better than tie the three-game series. A tied series results in the higher-seeded team advancing, therefore a Game 3 was not necessary since Lotte would advance no matter the outcome.

Final Stage

Summary

Game 1

In the bottom of the first inning in Game 1, Marines starter

Ayumu Ishikawa is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Career Amateur Days Ishikawa did not attract attention from NPB scouts upon graduation from Chubu University in 2011 despite p ...

walked two batters, allowing

Yuma Mune is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays outfielder for the Orix Buffaloes. Mune's father is Guinean and his mother is also of at least partial West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The ...

to score from second base on a single by

Takahiro Okada Takahiro Okada (岡田貴弘, born February 9, 1988, in Suita), playing as T-Okada (T-岡田), is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He changed his play ...

. The run would prove to be the only one of the game, as Buffaloes starter

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Professional career Yamamoto made his NPB debut on August 20, 2017 for the Orix Buffaloes. Yamamoto finished the 2021 season with an ...

threw a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout in his Climax Series debut. Lotte was unable to put a runner on base after the fifth inning. In the outing, Yamamoto struck out ten batters and allowed only four hits and no walks on 126-pitches. Adeiny Hechavarria helped to keep Lotte scoreless by completing two impressive defensive plays in the game. The win, along with their one-win advantage, gave the Buffaloes a 2–0 series lead.

Game 2

Starting pitchers were

Manabu Mima Manabu Mima (, born September 19, 1986) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball(NPB). He played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Career Mima attended Fujishiro High Scho ...

for Lotte and

Daiki Tajima is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Ko ...

for Orix. Tajima struck out five batters and allowed three hits and a walk through six innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Mima left the game after a single by Masataka Yoshida struck his leg and Marines relief pitcher Yusuke Azuma was brought in to replace him. On Azuma's first pitch,

Yutaro Sugimoto is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays outfielder for the Orix Buffaloes. Sugimoto won the Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award for the 2022 Japan Series The 2022 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2022'' for ...

hit a two-run home run to give the Buffaloes the lead. The home run would be the only scoring of the game, as the two team's relief pitchers kept the remainder of the game scoreless. Orix's Yoshihisa Hirano closed out the game to earn the save to bring them within one win of a Japan Series berth.

Game 3

Soichiro Yamazaki is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Ko ...

started for the Buffaloes, while Daiki Iwashita started for the Marines. In the top of the third inning, a one-out single then double by Takashi Ogino and Koshiro Wada, respectively, set up Shogo Nakamura to hit a sacrifice fly to give Lotte their first run and lead of the series. Yamazaki was removed from the game that same inning after walking the following batter. After five scoreless innings, Iwashita gave up a two-run home run to Mune, giving the Buffaloes the lead, 2–1. Lotte's Leonys Martín singled, advanced to second on a flyout, and then tied the game on a single by Toshiya Sato in the seventh. The next inning, Nakamura gave the Marines the lead again with a solo home run. Needing a win to continue the series, Lotte went to the PL saves leader, Naoya Masuda, in relief in the ninth inning. The Buffaloes scored a run on three straight no-out singles by Okada, Ryoichi Adachi and

Yuya Oda is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Orix Buffaloes 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 ofte ...

, to tie the game. With Orix advancing on a draw and no extra innings being played, the game ended after Oda's game-tying single, which was the series-winning RBI to advance the Buffaloes to the Japan Series. It was the first walk-off tie in Climax Series history.

References

{{Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Climax Series Pacific League Climax Series Pacific League Climax Series