Nippon Ham Beat Lotte to Advance to the Final Stage'The Greatest'Sobang Meeting
Oct 14, 2024
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Nippon Ham defeated Chiba Lotte 5-2 in the first stage of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Pacific League Climax Series held at Econfield Hokkaido in Kitahiroshima, Japan on the 14th.
It was a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Nippon Ham allowed two runs in the top of the second inning with an opponent's squeeze bunt and a sacrifice fly, but succeeded in tying the game 2-2 immediately in the bottom of the third inning, and the cohesion of the batters revived in the second half of the game, allowing them to win the final score 5-2. Nippon Ham was able to keep the lead until the end as starting pitcher Kuki Kitayama allowed two runs in four ⅔ innings and the bullpen blocked the rest of the four ⅓ innings without allowing a run.
The First Stage is a competition between the 2nd to 3rd teams in the Central League and the Pacific League. It is a best-of-three series. Nippon-Ham, who finished second in the Pacific League in the regular season, started against Chiba Lotte by losing the first game, but then advanced to the final stage by capturing two consecutive games.
It is the first time since 2016 that Nippon Ham has advanced to the final stage. Nippon Ham won the Japan Series at the time.
This will lead to the final stage showdown between the league's strongest team, the Softbank Hawks and Nippon Ham. Softbank is the winning team with a .650 winning percentage of 91 wins, 3 draws and 49 losses in 143 regular season games.
The two teams will now face off for the Japanese Series. The final stage will be held in the best-of-six series, and the regular season winner will be given an advantage of one win.
The two teams will play the first game of the final stage at the Mizuho payday Dome in Fukuoka on the 16th. On the same day, the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama DeNA Baystars will face each other at Tokyo Dome.
youll@sportschosun.com
