2019 Pacific League Climax Series: Lions hoping for no repeat of last year

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The Final Stage of the 2019 Pacific League Climax Series is set. With the first stage's results in the books, the Saitama Seibu Lions will take on the Softbank Hawks.

Here is our preview with matchups and positions on both teams:

Background: 

The Lions won their second consecutive Pacific League Pennant, but didn't do it in the same fashion as 2018. This year's squad had rotation issues while hovering around .500 for majority of the first four months. It wasn't until August where the Lions began their run and went a combined 31-17 through August/September/October to win the pennant.

Majority of NPB experts expected regression with the losses of Yusei Kikuchi to MLB and Hideto Asamura to the Eagles. This year was much more surprising than last year's dominant stretch with a franchise record breaking offense.

For the Hawks, they're aiming for their third straight Japan Series championship and fifth in the last six years. This season dealt with injuries and pitching inconsistency leading to a not-so dominant 2019 like years before. Kodai Senga continued to show off his velocity and even threw a no-hitter, but it wasn't his best season by his standards.

Rei Takahashi picked up a lot of slack while other young players got their feet wet at the ichi-gun level, including first round draft pick Hiroshi Kaino. Yuki Yanagita was out for majority of the year and this time it was all about Yurisbel Gracial in the outfield doing the damage. The Hawks are still the Hawks and can compete with anyone, but more importantly, several farm players got ichi-gun experience for the long run.

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Rotation: 

The Lions will throw Zach Neal in Game 1 while Wataru Matsumoto, Tatsuya Imai, Keisuke Honda and maybe Daiki Enokida could round out the group. It's possible Kona Takahashi returns from an injury as well.

Softbank played Rei Takahashi, Senga and Rick van Den Hurk in their series against the Eagles. With two primary starters carrying this rotation, they could be bullpenning the rest of the way with Shota Takeda or Ariel Miranda taking 3-4 innings to start a game. Quality is better in Fukuoka, but the Lions have the depth when it comes to starters only. Edge: Lions 

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Catcher:

Tomoya Mori is coming off a batting title and reached the 20 HR milestone for the first time in his career. His defense is average as a catcher, but his offense has taken the next step, living up to the hype as a first round draft pick many years ago.

Softbank has Takuya Kai who is better defensively. With Kai having a respectable hitting year, his defense prevents the Lions from stealing on them all day and takes the cake even with the offense Mori brings. Edge: Hawks

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First base: 

Hotaka Yamakawa had a red hot first half and still finished with a league-leading 43 home runs. He can still do damage with runners on base, but he isn't a cleanup hitter.

Softbank has Seiichi Uchikawa, who is a shell of his former self. He has the experience, but Yamakawa is currently a better hitter, though Uchikawa has shown he can be clutch. Edge: Lions

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Second base: 

Shuta Tonosaki won the role for 2019 and has been decent in both the field and with his bat. He passed the 20 HR milestone for the first time in his career and still has speed on the base paths.

Softbank has Taisei Makihara, who has been a hole for them even though he hits in the leadoff position on occasion. They tried to offer Asamura money in the offseason, but he signed with the Eagles instead. Tonosaki beats Makihara in almost every category from defensive range to hitting. Edge: Lions

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Third base: 

Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura has been strong not only in home runs, but hitting for average in an irregular season for his standards. He's come up with the bases loaded several times an has a high average with runners in scoring position. Defensive range isn't his strong point, but he can field and throw well.

Softbank has Nobuhiro Matsuda as the regular "hot man" (Atsuo), but Gracial has spent time here too. Everyone has power potential and the defensive edge goes to Softbank in comparison. Edge: Hawks

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Shortstop: 

Sosuke Genda's streak of playing every single inning and game of his career was snapped, but he still a top SS defensively and hit his own weight to bat second in the lineup. He was also effective at stealing bases.

Kenta Imamiya is still one of the top SS in NPB, but his defense isn't near the same caliber as what Genda did in 2019. However, Imamiya can belt some home runs and quietly hit even with a lower average. Genda's speed beats out the other categories. Edge: Lions

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Outfield:

Shogo Akiyama, Yuji Kaneko and Fumikazu Kimura have their roles with the Lions. Kaneko led the league in stolen bases while Akiyama had the most hits. Kimura is primarily in RF for his arm and defense, but even he can slap a hit on occasion.

Yuki Yanagita is back for the Hawks as he's always dangerous. Akira Nakamura, Gracial and Shuhei Fukuda are also part of the mix the Hawks use in the OF. The numbers aren't flashy, but even the role players can do damage on the Lions. Therefore, the Hawks have quality and quantity to be a threat. Edge: Hawks

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Designated hitter:

Takumi Kuriyama saw DH most of the year to prevent any damage to his knees. He was average at best, but made several clutch hits and was even better off the bench in 2018. Ernesto Mejia could see time depending on the opposing pitcher.

Softbank has Alfredo Despaigne who provides plenty of pop. Even with a low average, his power threat is more intimidating than Kuriyama. Edge: Hawks

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Bullpen: 

The Lions were dependent on Katsunori Hirai and Tatsushi Masuda for the 8th and 9th innings for the regular season. All innings before the 8th were at tossup by committee with 19-year old Kaima Taira earning some playing time.

Softbank had another year without Dennis Sarfate throwing as Yuito Mori remained the closer. Arata Shiino, Hiroshi Kaino and Livan Moinelo should see plenty of high leverage situations before the closer. Manager Kimiyasu Kudo has plenty of options, he just has to decide who comes in. Edge: Hawks

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History: 

The Seibu Lions went 12-13 against the Hawks in the regular season. In the first series of the year, the Lions were swept and began the year with an 0-3 record. It was their only sweep in defeat for a three-game series in 2019. Since then, the Lions were able to compete with the Hawks, including a series win in Fukuoka while also winning a two-game series in Okinawa. 

In prior Climax Series history, the Lions have lost in 2011, 2012 and 2018 while only winning in 2004 when it was then called the Pacific League playoff. The Lions also lost in 2006 to the Hawks.  

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Outlook: 

Will this team crumble under pressure? Last year, there was a limited Tonosaki while Mori was knocked out of the game by a swing from Despaigne. Even with both players missing, the pitching couldn't handle the Hawks. What will this group of Lions do, learn from last season or do the Hawks repeat 2018?  There are still plenty of question marks with this Lions team even after winning the Pacific League pennant again.

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Lions announce nine players not returning for 2020

In what is one of the hardest things in sports, NPB teams around the league announced players who will not be offered a contract for 2020 with their preliminary senryokugai lists this past week. On Thursday, the Saitama Seibu Lions announced nine players who were part of the preliminary cuts.

The nine players include P Hayato Takagi, P Hirotaka Koishi, P Tatsuya Oishi, IF Kazuki Kaneko, OF Shogo Saito, P Jen-Lei Liao, P Chun-Lin Kuo, P Naoaki Matsumoto and P Tadasuke Minamikawa. 

Takagi, 30, was the free agent compensation selection by the Lions for the loss of Ryoma Nogami. Since being in the Pacific League, he was nothing but a disappointment and only saw two ichi-gun games in 2019, being lit up both times in mop up duty. 

Koishi, 32, was mostly in the Lions bullpen eating innings in low leverage. When the Lions were trailing several times in 2016, he had a career-high 74.2 innings. This past season, he fell out of favor with others leaping him on the depth chart.

Oishi, who turns 31 this week, will be remembered as one of the biggest draft busts in franchise history. Six teams wanted his services in the 2010 NPB Draft and the Lions won the rights when Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe drew the winning ticket. Injuries derailed his career early on and he never recovered. He produced a decent 2016 as a reliever, but couldn't stay at the ichi-gun consistently after that.

Saito, 30, was mostly a fourth outfielder and had a peak season in 2015 with 103 games appeared in. He never played more than 60 ichi-gun games after that and couldn't hit his way back.

Kaneko, 24, was a high school draft pick in 2013. He was briefly called up in 2018 when an injury to Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura was injured and did well for six games. However, he struggled in ni-gun this past year and Ryusei Sato took the reserve infielder spot at the ichi-gun, making him expendable.

Kuo, 27, was an amateur signing out of Taiwan who won his debut in 2015. Once in NPB, his control and location problems were exposed and he never got better. He saw 79.2 innings while being in the rotation for his first season, but never reached 25 ichi-gun innings after that and was only used as a spot starter.

Liao, 26, was a free agent signing after the Yomiuri Giants decided to not bring him back last year. He saw three ichi-gun games to pitch three innings in mop up duty last April, but stayed in ni-gun for the rest of the year.

Matsumoto, who turns 29 next month, was the 10th round draft pick by the Lions in 2015 while also being the last player called before the ikusei draft. He saw several mop up innings throughout his career and reached a career-high 24 innings in 2018. His time diminished to four games in 2019 in favor of others. 

Minamikawa, 27, was a 5th round shakaijin draft pick in 2015. He saw minimal ichi-gun time each season, but couldn't establish himself once he was called up. In 2019, he only had one ichi-gun appearance and failed to record an out while also allowing an earned run in low leverage. He finished this past season with an infinite ERA. 

Even for my expectations, this is a high number of players cut through the first wave. Teams will make a second wave of senryokugai moves after the Japan Series, but with nine players removed, it wouldn't surprise me if this is what the Lions intend to do the whole time.

With nine roster spots freed up, the Lions can draft the quantity they want later this month. There are now at least 15 roster spots open with the assumption that Ernesto Mejia will not return while other imports are still uncertain for 2020. We wish these players the best of luck in their future endeavors.

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2019 NPB Power Rankings: Final Edition

The 2019 NPB Regular season concluded with meaningful games until the final one took place. With some drama and other games in the last week, there was an exciting finish in both leagues even though the pennant in the Central was already decided.

Here are the final Power Rankings for 2019:

1. [^] (2) Saitama Seibu Lions (80-62-1, 14-7 since 9/1)

The Lions take a stunning run to end the 2019 season with a combined 31-17 in the last two months of the year to repeat as Pacific League Pennant champions. There is a long way to go to establish themselves as the best, but not having a first place standing until September 11 and hanging in there all season long is a real testament to how this squad pulled it off. Very few experts gave the Lions a chance at coming in first again given who they lost.

Biggest key in September was how the pitching peaked at the right time, as they didn't slug their way to wins. The Lions were also undefeated in games that Zach Neal started (13-0). Only thing stopping this team is the postseason, something they haven't excelled at in 11 years.

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2. [^] (3) Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (76-62-5, 12-9 since 9/1)

The Hawks had some ups and downs to prevent a pennant, but this group still competed with several farm players and will still be a threat in the postseason because they've shown they can get it done. Second base is the big hole in this team with Taisei Makihara while the rotation was dependent on Kodai Senga and Rei Takahashi, but this group could awaken come Climax Series time.

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3. [v] (1) Yomiuri Giants (77-64-2, 9-13 since 9/1) 

The Giants didn't need to anything after August and took their first pennant since 2014. Shun Yamaguchi carried the staff while Yoshihiro Maru lived up to the hype. We also say a big farewell to Shinnosuke Abe, who announced retirement this month while still being a solid part-time player. On paper, this could be a cake walk to the Japan Series, but there's a reason they play the games.

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4. [^] (7) Rakuten Eagles (71-68-4, 11-10 since 9/1) 

The Eagles had to fight their way to get in, but their gutsy outings led to their first A-class appearance since 2017. By splitting four combined games against the Lions and later beating the Softbank Hawks in come from behind fashion, they've shown they can't be written off. Their first half wins helped them get here. Starting pitching is there with Minabu Mima, Takahiro Norimoto and Takayuki Kishi all being healthy. Offense is inconsistent and slightly home run dependent, but who's counting?

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5. [^] (9) Hanshin Tigers (69-68-6, 13-8 since 9/1)

The Hanshin Tigers went on a six game win streak to earn the last postseason spot and finish in A-class for their first appearance since 2017. It wasn't easy, but it's clear to say every game counted from April to October. With a 16-8-1 record against the Baystars, this team could make a 2014 run if they can play the way they have in the last week of the season. Pitching was lights out to end the year and that always keeps them as a threat.

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6. [v] (4) Yokohama DeNA Baystars (71-69-3, 7-12 since 9/1)

The Baystars were backed in to A-class and didn't need to win much after having a hot middle of the year. Their largest salt in the wounds was watching the Giants celebrate the pennant in their own house when Yasuaki Yamasaki blew a save. The injury bug hit this team to prevent a possible pennant race, but it's clear the Alex Ramirez-led Baystars can still do damage with their pitching staff and streaky hitting. This will be the first time the Baystars host a Climax Series of any kind in their history.

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7. [^] (10) Chunichi Dragons (68-73-2, 14-9 since 9/1)

This Dragons team can only look back at the games their bullpen blew in the first half behind Hiroshi Suzuki and others. For a team that was close to the postseason, they were still so far and inconsistent to get there. Their biggest consolation? Controlling the last spot in A-class with games against the Hanshin Tigers and Hiroshima Carp. Yudai Ono had a resurgence year while also throwing a no-hitter and winning the Central League ERA title. Shuhei Takahashi established himself as a core player while the bullpen got better with time, but it was too late. The Dragons hold the longest A-class drought (2012) and they're not far off with a weakened Central League, but they need to put everything together for a full season in order to get in. Tsuyoshi Yoda has his work cut out for him.

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T8. [v] (6) Hiroshima Carp (70-70-3, 8-10 since 9/1)

The inconsistent Carp ended the season on a thud, being swept by the Chunichi Dragons in their last two games of the year. This team isn't far off from A-class, but a few players having a down year like Kosuke Tanaka didn't help. Now they will be seeking a new manager with Koichi Ogata stepping away. Should be interesting to see what happens in the offseason.

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T8. [v] (7) Chiba Lotte Marines (69-70-4, 10-9-1 since 9/1)

The Marines finally got over .500 at one point in the year, but couldn't make that run to A-class with some backbreaking losses. Their outfield blunders dropped them to being below .500 and with the lack of defensive plays, they came up short for the second straight year under Tadahito Iguchi. If anyone is looking for positives, it's Ayumu Ishikawa's second half where he was lights out. Even with the improved offense, the pitching and defense wasn't there for the full season which cost them the season and a Lions pennant party in their last game.

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10. [^] (12) Hokkiado Nippon-Ham Fighters (65-73-5, 9-11 since 9/1)

The Fighters were close to a pennant, being 1/2 a game behind the Hawks at the end of July, but a horrible August took them out of A-class altogether and the team can only look back at how their cold stretch killed them. Offense was the biggest issue in this span where Sho Nakata and others were not producing. With manager Hideki Kuriyama resigning, they'll be looking for a new skipper as well. The pieces are there, but one bad month cost them their season. At least Kohei Arihara established himself as one of the league's better pitchers.

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11. [v] (5) Orix Buffaloes (61-75-7, 6-16-2 since 9/1)

The Orix Buffaloes having a run in Interleague and August gave a slow death to their season after a dismal end to the year. Masataka Yoshida was great while the starting pitching was good even without Yuki Nishi and Chihiro Kaneko, but the offense was a black hole minus a few individuals. This group also lacks attention to detail when fielding and it's something Norifumi Nishimura will need to fix if they want to make A-class in 2020. A silver lining in all of this was taking the Marines out with them having a 15-9-1 record against them.

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12. [v] (11) Tokyo Yakult Swallows (59-82-2, 10-9 since 9/1)

The Swallows were the only team to have a losing record against all 11 other NPB teams while finishing in dead last. While they had a winning month to end the year, this team was buried since May and could never recover. Junji Ogawa stepped down and farm manager Shingo Takatsu will be the new skipper in charge. Everything from defense, pitching and offense went wrong, leading this group earning a last place finish in our rankings. Can't get any worse right?

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Lions repeat as Pacific League pennant winners in stunning fashion

On Tuesday night, the Saitama Seibu Lions won their second straight Pacific League pennant, repeating as winners for the first time in 21 years (1997-1998). Rather than a usual weekly digest, in short, the Lions took five out of seven games in a stretch where 7 consecutive matches were played.

On the final day of that span, the magic number was two as the Lions blew out the Chiba Lotte Marines 12-4 and the Rakuten Eagles came back and defeated the Softbank Hawks 4-2 to clinch A-class for themselves, creating a celebration in Chiba. Ernesto Mejia was also a big hero during the week with a sayonara HR in the regular season home finale and a clutch double in Sendai with the game tied.

Looking back on this season, the Lions didn't dominate and didn't even hold a first place standing until September. How did this happen? Here's a breakdown of one of the more improbable pennant finishes:

No Hideto Asamura? No problem.

The Lions came off a historic offense in 2018 with a franchise record of runs scored. While tehy didn't reach that number this season, the production at second base from Shuta Tonosaki didn't hurt the team. Asamura is a better hitter for average and home runs, but Tonosaki showed his defense was better while still being in the 20-20 club. Production wasn't matched by any means, but it wasn't a complete step backwards.

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Bullpen hid early starter problems

In the first half of the year, the Lions starting pitching was a huge void with many pitchers either missing or ineffective. One stable element was the back end of the bullpen, where Katsunori Hirai was the workhorse setup man and Tatsushi Masuda put in a great rebound season as the closer.

Hirai's production dipped once his arm started to wear out and pitching coach Kazuyoshi Ono overused him, but it's clear this team doesn't reach this stage without his efforts in the first half doing everything. The biggest thing is how Masuda is the FIP master with a lack of walks while also striking out several opponents.

Ono ended up riding Hirai's arm until it broke, but this call was necessary to make it where they are now.

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Overcoming starter woes, injuries

Shinsaburo Tawata was the opening day starter, but only appeared in a total of 12 ichi-gun games due to poor performance and condition. Despite being the wins leader last season, his lack of strikeouts in 2018 continued into 2019 where he gave up loud contact. Daiki Enokida was supposed to help the rotation, but he was also injured and ineffective which led to a shortened year.

Tetsuya Utsumi was supposed to be a rotation starter after being compensation for the loss of Ginjiro Sumitani. After several setbacks and injuries, he failed to play an ichi-gun game for the entire season and just sold bento boxes (as he was marketed in the concession area). Even when he returned to ni-gun, he wasn't productive, making this selection a flop on all fronts. 

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Nakamura's resurgence picked up for Yamakawa

Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura had an outstanding year which led to him being the team's cleanup hitter in the second half, a position he used to hold. He led the league in RBIs, but several of them were clutch and meaningful, whether it was a bases loaded gapper or a grand slam. He padded his career grand slam total to 20, which is a league record when he passed Sadaharu Oh's in 2015. 

While already hitting 30 HRs, his average was above .280 for most of the year and even reached a peak at .296.  This was very unlike him or his identity, but he was a smart hitter while also being solid defensively at 3B.

Yamakawa was the cleanup hitter all of last year, but he was only big in the first half of 2019. While dropping his average to .245 at one point, the Lions made the right call to switch cleanup hitters as Yamakawa took a lesser role batting as low as 7th in the lineup. He still hit home runs, but wasn't as effective as his MVP season of 2018.

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Zach Neal's redemption story

Zach Neal looked like he would take the path of any foreign import pitcher who struggles after four outings. He was sent to ni-gun in May and spent 40+ days working with the coaches on how to pitch in Japan, which changed his approach and location to fit NPB.

His hard work paid off when the Lions continued to win all of his starts beginning with June 20. The Lions went 13-0 and Neal was the winning pitcher in 11 of those starts. Neal's biggest strength is control, where he doesn't walk batters and isn't scared to challenge hitters. He was never a strikeout pitcher, but continued to be crafty at drawing the ground ball to let Tonosaki and Sosuke Genda do the work.

It's safe to say, Neal is the best foreign pitcher since Alex Graman. In terms of American starting pitchers, only Marion O'Neil can say he had at least 10 wins, which goes back to 1953 under the Nishitetsu Lions era and early days of professional baseball in Japan.

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Bend, but don't break

Source: Tehsuigi on NPB's Reddit.

The Lions were swept in a three-game series only once in 2019. It was during the opening series against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks where they started the year 0-3. Otherwise, the Lions avoided any slump in the loss column to bury them and had at least a .500 record in each month. It's not always about being hot, but never being ice cold that can lead to staying alive.

There were six instances where the Lions lost the first two games of a three-game series, but won the last match to salvage a victory. The Lions were never dead as a result and always being in the hunt before making a run in August. It wasn't until September when the Lions had their first taste of being in first place.

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Core position players performed, living up to hype

Shogo Akiyama, Sosuke Genda, Tonosaki, Yuji Kaneko, Tomoya Mori and Yamakawa all played to their identities without looking back. Each player had their own role whether it was to steal bases, play defense, get on base or hit home runs.

Sure, someone could get cold somewhere, but the offense was still a balanced attack where they led the Pacific League in average, on base percentage, stolen bases while also being second in home runs. The Hatsuhiko Tsuji era has continued to evolve and adjust on offense while not needing to bunt much. It didn't hurt to have five players with at least 20 HRs as the Lions became the first to have all Japanese players with this distinction.

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Foreign contributions were minimal outside of Neal

Chun-Lin Kuo was good for one spot start and flopped on another. Kyle Martin had a great stretch as a reliever during interleague play, but struggled against the Rakuten Eagles leading to his deactivation in the last two months. Deunte Heath had a nightmare start to the year and never found his rhythm in his first full season with the Lions.

Ernesto Mejia already established himself as a rare bench player with Yamakawa preventing him from getting regular playing time. While he did make some big hits, his production only saw time as a starter against left-handed pitching as he was a pinch hitter in majority of his games. The future is uncertain for all imports if they return to the Lions or not in 2020, including Neal.

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Pitching and the team peaked at the right time

Slow and steady wins the race? While making sure they hovered .500 for most of the year, the Lions went on a tear in August while the starting pitching proved to be dominant in September. Not only from Neal, but Wataru Matsumoto, Ken Togame, Tatsuya Imai, Daiki Enokida and Kona Takahash had their share of decent starts.

It was in September where a role reversal took place as the hitting was cold, starting pitching did well while Masuda and Hirai were hard to watch at times. The team still found ways to come through whether it was an opposing error or a bad pitch.

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Bullpen played matchups in the second half

Ono ended up playing the roulette wheel with his staff once Kyle Martin became ineffective and Hirai was wearing down. Ryuya Ogawa, Shogo Noda and Kaima Taira started to come in for the 7th inning, but it was Ogawa and Taira who dominated the appearances when leading. Taira looks to be a solid bullpen contributor for years as the Lions have lacked a hard thrower. Ogawa is decent at getting a ground ball, but isn't always reliable. Even Tsubasa Kokuba started to play a little more in the second half.

On the flip side, it was disappointing Hiromasa Saito and Hayato Takagi couldn't crack much at the ichi-gun level with the former being used as a short starter and saw only a few games this year.

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Defense, defense and defense

Tsuji has always focused on defense since being the Lions manager and this year was no different. Genda continued to make plays, but the middle of the infield got even better when Tonosaki's range was added at second base. This team doesn't have flashy web gems all the time, but their key has been to limit mistakes. Contrast that with what the Orix Buffaloes, Chiba Lotte Marines and even Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters were this year defensively.

Fumikazu Kimura was also serviceable defensively in thee field. At the end of the day, this covered majority of the pitching problems if the Lions could get to the ball and take away base hits or reduce the errors compared to the rest. This was the biggest reason the Lions took the pennant for the second straight year and shocked the NPB world after losing Yusei Kikuchi and Hideto Asamura from last season. They were able to Catch the Glory in a better late than never fashion.

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2019 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Neal, Sayonaras lead to first place

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The Saitama Seibu Lions took a 4-2 homestand against the Softbank Hawks and Chiba Lotte Marines. With these wins, they made it to first place in the Pacific League for the first time all-season with the Magic number currently sitting at nine (through games on September 15). The Lions also clinched A-class for the third consecutive year.

 Here is how it all went down:

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Zach Neal pitched seven innings in the first game against the Hawks and only allowed a solo HR to Alredo Despaigne. A bases-clearing double in the 4th inning by Tomoya Mori is all the offense the Lions needed. Tatsushi Masuda also picked up his 100th career save to end the game. As a result, the Lions were in first place by half a game.

Lions 4, Hawks 1

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Ken Togame and Kodai Senga were in a pitcher's duel with both players not allowing a run through seven innings. It wasn't until the 8th inning when Yurisbel Gracial hit a HR off Katsunori Hirai in the 8th while Senga only gave up one run. Both sides traded a run in the 9th with Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura hitting a solo HR for his 29th of the season in a losing effort.

Hawks 3, Lions 2

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Wataru Matsumoto had seven scoreless innings for the Lions in the first matchup against Chiba. Timely hits from Tomoya Mori, Okawari-kun and Shuta Tonosaki got to Mike Bolsinger early on. Shogo Akiyama hit a two-run HR to ice the game, making him the 5th player to hit 20 HRs for hte Lions this year, joining Okawari-kun, Hotaka Yamakawa, Tonosaki and Mori. This quintet is the only group of all-Japanese players to reach this benchmark.

Lions 6, Marines 1

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Tatsuya Imai put in a strong performance with six innings and one run allowed, but this game wasn't over so quickly. Home runs from Tomoya Mori and Hotaka Yamakawa amounted to only three runs. Masuda blew the save in the 9th with a flurry of two out hits from Brandon Laird and pinch hitter Hiromi Oka.

Tsubasa Kokuba had a scoreless 10th inning, which was important for the bottom of the frame. With Okawari-kun on first, Ernesto Mejia hit a bloop to shallow centerfield and Hiromi Oka misplayed it, bouncing into no-man's land. This led to Okawari-kun scoring from first on a sayonara win while Kokuba earned his first victory.

Lions 4, Marines 3 (10 innings) 

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Daiki Enokida allowed only one run through six innings, but ran into trouble in the 7th, where a bases-clearing gapper from Daichi Suzuki gave the Marines a 4-1 lead. The Lions chipped away at this with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 7th.

A three-run rally in the 8th capped off by timely hits from Sosuke Genda and Tomoya Mori gave the Lions their first lead of the day at 5-4. Hirai was brought in for the 9th and he blew it on a timely hit from Takashi Ogino.

The Lions blew a sayonara opportunity with runners on base in the bottom of the 9th forcing extra innings again. Yasuo Sano and Kaima Taira had scoreless 10th and 11th innings, setting up what looked to be a casual bottom of the 11th. Tomohisa Ohtani appeared to have finished the inning with a routine fly ball from Fumikazu Kimura with two outs. Defensive replacement Shohei Kato miscommunicated with Ogino in the outfield as both players collided and the ball fell to the ground. Kimura was able to run a lap around the bases for the second straight sayonara win in extra innings.

As a result, the Lions were in first place and clinched A-class and second place at minimum due to other games around the Pacific League.

Lions 6. Marines 5 (11 innings)

Game note:

-Tomoya Mori became the third Lions player to have a least 100 RBIs, joining Okawari-kun and Yamakawa.

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Keisuke Honda couldn't hold a 2-0 lead as everything unraveled for the Lions in the top of the 6th. A barrage of hits and walks led to a six-run frame where Shogo Noda couldn't limit the damage and the Marines salvaged one out of the four games.

Marines 9, Lions 3

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This was a fine week for the pitchers, but not so much the hitting. The final regular season homestand is here and if the Lions were to win a pennant, they have to clinch while on the road. 

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Mori wins Pacific League MVP for August

Tomoya Mori was named the Pacific League hitting MVP for August of 2019 on Wednesday afternoon. This is the first time he has won a player of the month award. 

“I wanted to [win this award at least once] in my professional baseball career. I'm glad that it will be in August," Mori said. 

In August, Mori led the Pacific League in hits (40), RBIs (30), HRs (10) and Slugging average (.736). He was also third in on-base percentage with (.447), making an OPS of 1.183.  

Recently, the Lions have moved Mori up to being third in the lineup while bumping Shuta Tonosaki down to as low as 6th in the batting order, giving the former a chance to plate more runs when Shogo Akiyama is on base. 

Mori didn't have the highest batting average (.377), as that belonged to Masataka Yoshida of Orix (.407). He even made a statement about how he thought Yoshida was deserving of this award. 

This is the third time a Lions player has won a monthly award in 2019. Hotaka Yamakawa and Akiyama were the winners for March/April and May, respectively. 

All monthly MVP award winners for August were first time recipients. 

Other winners: 

David Buchanan (Swallows): (3-0), 33 IP, 22 K, 1.64 ERA

Ryoma Nishikawa (Carp): .365/.421/.513, 42 H, 4 HR, 12 RBI

Alan Busenitz (Eagles): (1-0), 11 Hlds, 13 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA.  

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2019 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Nakamura's grand slams power through road trip

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The Saitama Seibu Lions had another successful week going 5-1 against the Orix Buffaloes and Rakuten Eagles on the road. They retained second place while trailing the Softbank Hawks by one game for the Pacific League Pennant.

Here is what happened:
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Orix Buffaloes (from Kobe)

Zach Neal won his eighth consecutive decision and the Lions continued their streak of 10 wins in games that he started since June 20. By going 6.1 scoreless innings, Neal continued his strong form. Takeya "Okawari-kun" hit a two-run HR in the first and three runs came in the 9th as insurance for what was a comfortable Lions win.

Lions 5, Buffaloes 1

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Shuta Tonosaki's two HRs was enough in the Lions second game against Orix. Daiki Enokida went six innings with only two runs allowed while Kaima Taira, Shogo Noda and Yasuo Sano took the late innings.  Okawari-kun padded his league-record of career grand slams by hitting one in the 8th inning for his 19th.

Lions 10, Buffaloes 2

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Wataru Matsumoto went six innings with only two runs allowed. He also recorded nine strikeouts. Offensively, Tonosaki hit another HR, but a bases-clearing double by Okawari-kun sealed the deal in this one.

Lions 7. Buffaloes 3

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Rakuten Eagles (Sendai) 

Tatsuya Imai struggled in Game 1 and allowed four runs, including a two run HR to Jabari Blash. Five runs in the third inning was all the offense the Lions would receive with a grand slam by Okawari-kun, his 20th of his career.

When Imai left, it was a one-run game in the 6th inning as the bullpen shut the door with Tsubasa Kokuba, Ryuya Ogawa, Kaima Taira, Shogo Noda, Katsunori Hirai and Tatsushi Masuda combining for four shutout frames. 

Lions 5, Eagles 4

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Kona Takahashi struggled in Game 2 after the Lions had a 2-0 lead. Hiroaki Shimauchi's timely hits gave the Eagles the lead for good with the Lions pitcher leaving the game after six innings. Takahashi was also deactivated with an elbow injury.

The Lions had a bases-loaded chance in the top of the 9th, but only Sosuke Genda could get a timely hit as they came up short in the loss.

Eagles 5, Lions 3

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Keisuke Honda had a decent 5.2 innings, but a back-breaking two-run HR by Blash forced a no-decision for the Lions pitcher. Okawari-kun had a timely gapper in the first inning for two runs.

With squandered chances on both sides, the Lions defense had to save their pitchers with Genda making plays on the infield. Hotaka Yamakawa's gapper in the 8th inning with two outs had the game-deciding run reach home plate and Masuda escaped the 9th with a liner as two runners were on base.

Lions 3, Eagles 2

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This was another good week taking care of business in Kansai while also pulling out some tough wins in Sendai. It was uncharacteristic to not score against the Eagles, but both sides are playing meaningful baseball and it's huge the Lions came out on top in one-run affairs.

The showdown against the Hawks is now set, where only a sweep or two wins and a tie would put the Lions in first place. Their work is cut out for them. 

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