Japan’s Foreplay Series final stage matchups are set after the Lotte Marines came from behind late to see off the SoftBank Hawks and advance to the six-game, best-of-seven series at Osaka UFO Dome against the Orix Buffaloes, who are seeking their third straight trip to the Japan Series.
Monday’s game
Marines 4, Hawks 3, 10 innings: At Chiba Marine Stadium, SoftBank reliever Yuki Tsumori blew a three-run 10th-inning lead on a three-run Yudai Fujioka home run, and Lotte rallied for another run with two outs as Hiromi Oka sped home from first on Hisanori Yasuda’s game-winning single.
A tremendous pitchers’ duel between SoftBank’s 42-year-old Tsuyoshi Wada and Lotte’s Kazuya Ojima, both southpaw Waseda University graduates was scoreless through nine innings, thanks to Lotte right fielder Takashi Ogino throwing out Hawks catcher Takuya Kai at the plate as he tried to score on a one-out third-inning fly.
There were plenty of big pitches for third outs with runners in scoring position and lots of fist pumping pitchers until Hirokazu Sawamura hung an 0-1 splitter in the 10th that Ukyo Shuto got the barrel on and grounded up the middle for an RBI single. Shuto went to second on the throw home and scored on Akira Kawase’s triple. Yuki Yanagita brought him home with a single off lefty Koshiro Sakamoto and the Marines’ goose was all but cooked and served.
But Katsuya Kakunaka fouled off four two-strike pitches before delivering a leadoff single in the home half of the 10th. Ogino beat out an infield single, and Fujioka matched his season home run total with his first of the postseason, driving a fat first-pitch fastball into the “home run lagoon” in right center.
