The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) postseason is set to open with the best-of-three Climax Series on Saturday, 14 October.
The 143-game regular season saw the Hanshin Tigers win the Central League pennant with an 85-53 record and five ties.
The second-place Hiroshima Toyo Carp (74-65 and four ties) will face the third-place Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars (74-66 and three ties) in the Climax Series, and the winner will take over the Tigers.
The playoff's final stage is a seven-game series with the regular season winner starting with a 1-0 lead.
The defending Japan Series champions, Orix Buffaloes, dominated the Pacific League with an 86-53 record and four ties.
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto led the Buffaloes with 16 wins, a 1.21 earned run average and 169 strikeouts. Yamamoto, 25, is an Olympic gold medallist. He made the Tokyo 2020 All-Olympic Baseball Team. He helped Japan win the WBSC Premier12 2019 and the World Baseball Classic 2023.
The second-place Chiba Lotte Marines (70-68 and five ties) will play the third-place Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (71-69 and three ties) in the Climax Series. The winner will face the Buffaloes.
The Japan Series will open on Saturday, 28 October. Game Four is scheduled on Wednesday, 1 November, while a potential Game Seven is planned on Sunday, 5 November.
