Seibu Lions 2017 playoff digest: Season ends in Climax Series

The Saitama Seibu Lions season ended against Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the first stage of the Climax Series. Here is how it all went down:

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Game 1 would have Takahiro Norimoto against Yusei Kikuchi. Hideto Asamura drew first blood with a two-run HR in the bottom of the 1st after Sosuke Genda was hit by a pitch. After Kikuchi drew multiple double plays, the Lions erupted in the bottom of the third.

Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and Ginjiro Sumitani hit a two-out double to make it 5-0. Shogo Akiyama and Sosuke Genda slapped timely singles to add two more runs.

Kikuchi escaped a bases loaded situation in the top of the 4th and it was smooth sailing from there. Okawari-kun crushed a three-run HR off Koji Aoyama to make it 10-0.

It wasn't dominant, but Kikuchi earned the shutout victory with nine strikeouts and good defense behind him.

Lions 10, Eagles 0

Game notes:

-With the HR, Okawari-kun tied the league record for most home runs in the Climax Series with 8.

-Every Lions starter had a hit or got on base. Sumitani and Yamakawa had modashos.

-Including the postseason, Kikuchi went 9-0 against the Eagles in nine games, earning a win in each of them.

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Game 2 had Ken Togame facing Takayuki Kishi. The first pitch of the game was sent to the stands thanks to a leadoff HR by Eigoro Mogi. After Kishi worked through giving up a double, the Eagles added two more runs with a base hit by Shintaro Masuda and a safety squeeze from Motohiro Shima.

Despite the slow start, Togame put in a quality start and kept the Lions in the game with 6.1 innings and one strikeout. He did this with only 87 pitches.

Shogo Noda came in with the hopes to retire two left handed batters, but walked two and later gave up an infield single to Mogi from a full count, scoring a run from second base to make it 4-0.

Kishi dominated his former team, with 6.1 innings, eight strikeouts and only three hits allowed without a walk. The Lions scored a run in the 8th inning off an RBI groundout, but that was as close as it got.

The Lions had one final chance off Yuki Matsui in the 9th inning, but came up short when Shuta Tonosaki and Okawari-kun struck out with two runners on base.

Eagles 4, Lions 1

Game note:

-Masatoshi Okada started at catcher and went 0-2.

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The elimination game featured Ryoma Nogami facing Minabu Mima. Nogami would start the game on a slow note, where he walked three batters and gave up an RBI infield single to Zelous Wheeler for a 1-0 Eagles lead. Mima earned a hard shutdown inning where Shogo Akiyama was stranded at third base and two batters struck out.

Wheeler singled to leadoff the 4th and advanced to second base on a bunt. Nogami threw a wild pitch and Wheeler scored from second base. His night ended after 3.2 innings, where he struggled to get the leadoff batter out in three out of four tries. Noda retired Eigoro Mogi with a runner on second to end the top of the 4th.

The Lions chased Mima in the 5th inning after two runners were on base and Ginjiro Sumitani hit a sacrifice fly. The tying run was on third base again, but Akiyama struck out against Yuhei Takanashi. 

Offensively, the Lions blew multiple chances despite only having a few hits. There were runners on base in particularly the 6th inning, but failed situational hitting left a dismal result.

Brian Schlitter came in the top of the 8th and retired the first two batters. However, he gave up a solo HR to Wheeler and a two-run HR to Masuda for the killer finish.

Asamura hit a solo HR, but it was too late. The Lions bats weren't going to score for the rest of the night as their season ended.

Eagles 5, Lions 1

Game note:

-This is the first time in Pacific League Climax Series history where the winner of Game 1 of the first stage did not advance to the next round.

-The Lions have lost in the Climax Series for the third straight trip. Last two outings were in 2012 and 2013, both at home.

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As the season has finished, we want to say thanks for joining us on social media and on our blog. More analysis and coverage to come in the future.

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