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Nippon-Ham Fight Back, Defeat Lotte Marines to Advance to PLCS

 Yuri Karasawa  |    Oct 14th, 2024 3:00pm EDT

TOKYO, Japan – The Nippon-Ham Fighters came back from the brink of elimination to take down the Lotte Marines, booking a matchup with the pennant-winning SoftBank Hawks in the next round.

Game 1

Marines ace Roki Sasaki was in complete control on Saturday, shutting down the Fighters offense with nine strikeouts across eight shutout innings. The flamethrower’s afternoon started a bit shaky with two walks, but his command improved throughout the game as he didn’t allow another free pass the rest of the way.

The Fighters were looking to be patient to drive up his pitch count and sit on fastballs, but Sasaki smartly relied on his slider to sneak in strikes and get ahead early in counts. He managed his pitch count economically and recorded four of his nine strikeouts looking, freezing the overly-passive Fighters hitters.

Nippon-Ham starter Takayuki Katoh provided a polar opposite look to Sasaki, mixing speeds and keeping hitters off balance with an assortment of slow breaking balls. Things were going smoothly until the 5th when third baseman Shogo Nakamura took him deep on the first pitch of the inning to put the Marines up 1-0. Lotte had a chance to add another run, but a failed suicide squeeze killed their chances.

Two innings later, Katoh allowed another leadoff shot to designated hitter Gregory Polanco to make it 2-0. The Nippon-Ham bullpen successfully prevented any further damage, but it was a futile effort with Sasaki on the mound.

The Fighters finally managed to put a runner in scoring position in the 7th, but Sasaki struck out slugger Chusei Mannami, who had two hits against him, on an 85 mph slider to end the frame. Sasaki allowed another hit with two outs in the 8th but blew a 97 mph heater by Daiki Asama to finish his day.

The 22-year-old phenom recorded 15 swinging strikes on 112 pitches, marking the 11th time he’s gone over 100 pitches this season. He’s yet to allow an earned run in 17 career postseason innings.

Lefty Shota Suzuki and veteran closer Naoya Masuda combined to pitch a clean 9th as defensive replacement Aito made a sliding catch in the outfield to end the game, securing Lotte a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2

Game 2 was nearly a mirror image of Game 1 for the first seven innings. Hisanori Yasuda and Katsuya Kakunaka led off the 5th and 7th innings with solo homers off Nippon-Ham rookie Shoma Kanemura, putting Lotte in front 2-0.

The Fighters had chances against lefty Kazuya Ojima but struggled to capitalize as Lotte held them scoreless through the first 15 innings of the series. Finally, in the bottom of the 7th, walks by DH Franmil Reyes and pinch-hitter Yuya Gunji chased Ojima from the game.

With sidewinder Rikuto Yokoyama taking over, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, setting up Cuban Ariel Martinez, who cut the lead in half with an RBI groundout. But shortstop Tatsuki Mizuno couldn’t bring the tying run home as Yokoyama got a big strikeout, painting a 96 mph fastball on the inside corner. They got the tying run on base again in the 8th, but Daiki Asama, who entered as a defensive substitute for Shun Mizutani, popped out to the shortstop.

With their season on the line, the Fighters turned to starter Sachiya Yamasaki in relief. Lotte put two runners on in the 9th, but Yamasaki got Yasuda to ground out to keep the deficit at one. Needing just three more outs to clinch the series, Marines manager Masato Yoshii called on closer Naoya Masuda, who struck out Reyes on a slider for the first out.

But just when the Fighters faithful were losing hope, star outfielder Chusei Mannami came through in the clutch with a massive game-tying home run on the first pitch he saw. Mannami sat on a fastball and did not miss. Masuda completed the inning to send the game to extras, but the energy at Es Con Field crowd shifted for the first time in the series.

Yamasaki remained in the game for the top of the 10th and had a 1-2-3 inning. Former Boston Red Sox reliever Hirokazu Sawamura entered in the bottom of the inning and struck out the first two batters he faced. But leadoff man Go Matsumoto worked a seven-pitch walk, and Kotaro Kiyomiya singled to put runners on the corners with two outs.

That brought up Asama, who was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the series. This time, however, he smacked a walk-off hit to right field, keeping Nippon-Ham’s dreams alive in dramatic fashion and forcing a winner-take-all Game 3.

Game 3

With breakout right-hander Koki Kitayama on the mound for Nippon-Ham, Lotte struck first for the third consecutive game, scoring in the 2nd inning on an Atsuki Tomosugi safety squeeze and a Takashi Ogino sac fly to go up 2-0.

The Fighters responded in the 3rd when Tatsuki Mizuno singled, Go Matsumoto walked, and both advanced on a passed ball. Marines starter Atsuki Taneichi struck out last night’s hero, Daiki Asama, but Kotaro Kiyomiya came through with a two-run single to tie the game.

In the top of the 4th, Marines No. 9 hitter Kyota Fujiwara nearly hit an opposite-field two-run homer, but Asama made a leaping catch at the wall. As Kitayama started to run out of gas in the 5th, manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo called on team saves leader Seigi “Justice” Tanaka, who struck out first baseman Neftali Soto on three pitches, finishing with a 97 mph fastball.

Tanaka stayed in to record four more outs before being replaced by lefty Ryusei Kawano in the 7th. In the bottom of the frame, Mannami walked, and Gunji reached on an error, but Daigo Kamikawabata grounded into a 2-5-3 double play on a sac bunt attempt.

With Taneichi laboring over 100 pitches, Lotte kept him in, which backfired as catcher Yua Tamiya walked, and Tatsuki Mizuno lined a two-run triple to right-center, putting the Fighters ahead. They added an insurance run in the 8th when Mannami drove in Kiyomiya, who had stolen second and reached third on the throw.

Veterans Takahide Ikeda and Naoki Miyanishi then shut down the Marines in order in the 8th and 9th innings, securing Nippon-Ham’s ticket to Fukuoka for the Pacific League championship series. The Marines were two outs from sweeping the series, but the Fighters punished them for not finishing the job.

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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/

Photo Credit: Chusei Mannami of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters hits a double in the 5th inning against Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium on June 9, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Sports Nippon/Getty Images)

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Yuri Karasawa
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