The 2019 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) was a post-season

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues c ...

playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined which of the three teams who finished in the top three during the 2019 regular season would represent the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

in the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

. The First Stage was a best-of-three series played between the second-place hosts

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka ...

and the third-place

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shoppin ...

. The series was played between October 5 to 7. The Hawks defeated the Eagles 2–1 and advanced to the Final Stage to face the pennant-winning

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...

. The Final Stage was a best-of-six series hosted by the Lions. Having won the regular season, Seibu was awarded a one-win advantage over the Hawks. The series was played between October 9 to 13. SoftBank swept Seibu 4–1 in four games to advance to the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

, where they competed against the

2019 Central League Climax Series The 2019 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a postseason playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined which of the three teams who finished in the top three during the 2019 regular season would represent the Central League in ...

winner, the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

First stage

The

clinched a postseason berth on September 19, their sixth straight. After failing to overtake the Lions in the final week of the season, the Hawks were ensured home field advantage in the First Stage of the Climax Series. The

clinched a third-place finish and a spot in the Climax Series on September 24. It was their first postseason appearance in two years. The Hawks were 13–12 against the Eagles during the regular season.

Series summary

Game 1

The Eagles quickly took the lead in the top of the first inning with a solo

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

Hideto Asamura is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Saitama Seibu Lions. Early life Asamura attended Osaka Tōin High School and ...

off of Hawks'

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitc ...

Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until . He is a three-time NPB ...

. SoftBank quickly responded in the bottom of the same inning with a solo home run of their own by Kenta Imamiya off of Eagles' starter

Takahiro Norimoto is a Japanese professional baseball player. He plays for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles In 2013, Norimoto's rookie season, he pitched to a 15-8 win–loss r ...

. In the bottom of the next inning,

Seiichi Uchikawa is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama BayStars and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Career Yokohama BaySta ...

's two-run home run gave the Hawks the lead. However, Rakuten continued to score and eventually took the lead after three solo home runs in three separate innings: the third, fifth and seventh. In the top of the ninth inning, Hiroaki Shimauchi walked and then advanced to third base after a

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

and a throwing

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistic ...

. Asamura gave the Eagles an insurance run when he singled to drive Shimauchi home, the only run in the game scored via a method other than home run. Eagles closer

Yuki Matsui is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). His wife is a Japanese actress Anna Ishibashi. Career Amateur career As a pitcher for Toko Gakuen high school, he won a ...

retired all three Hawks' batters in the bottom of the ninth inning to record the save.

Game 2

After the Eagles scored a run in the top of the first inning, the Hawks again followed suit, tying it up in the bottom of the inning via Yuki Yanagita's solo home. In the bottom of the third, Yanagita again tied the game with an RBI double after Asamura hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning.

Alfredo Despaigne Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (born June 17, 1986) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career In 2009, Desp ...

' two-run homer later that same inning briefly gave the Hawks the lead. After Hawks starter

Rick van den Hurk Henricus "Rick" Nicolas van den Hurk (Eindhoven, May 22, 1985) is a Dutch professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has also pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh ...

was removed with two outs in the forth inning, reliever Shinya Kayama walked two batters. Asamura then tied it up by singling in two runs in the fourth, collecting two more RBIs.

Shuhei Fukuda Shuhei Fukuda (Japanese:福田秀平, born February 10, 1989) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He played for t ...

broke the 4–4 tie with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, putting the Hawks ahead for good. They added an insurance run in the fifth when Despaigne singled in Yanagita. The Hawks

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

kept the Eagles scoreless from the fifth inning on to secure the win.

Game 3

Unlike the previous two games in the series, scoring in Game 3 didn't start for either team until the fourth inning. Eagles' and Hawks' starting pitchers

Takayuki Kishi Takayuki Kishi ( ja, 岸孝之, born December 4, 1984, in Taihaku-ku, Sendai) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Saitama Seibu Li ...

and Rei Takahashi, respectively, kept both teams scoreless through the first three innings. Rakuten's Asamura scored the first run of the game with a solo home run in the top of the fourth. He homered in all three games and hit four home runs in total in the series. Kishi had not allowed a hit until giving up back-to-back singles to Despaigne and Yurisbel Gracial in the bottom of the inning.

then tied the game by driving in a run. The tie continued until the seventh inning, when Uchikawa homered off of Rakuten reliever Sung Chia-hao to give the Hawks the lead. The Hawks couldn't breakthrough in the remaining innings with SoftBank reliever

Liván Moinelo Liván Moinelo Pita (born December 8, 1995) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for Vegueros de Pinar del Rio in the Cuban National Series. He was dispatched to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2017. Career Moinelo played for the Cuban na ...

and closer

Yuito Mori is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks On October 24, 2013, Mori was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball ...

keeping them scoreless to allow the Hawks to win and advance to the Final Stage of the Climax Series.

Final stage

The

clinched the Pacific League pennant, their second straight, on September 24. The title also insured that the Lions would be awarded both a one-game and home field advantages in the Final Stage of the Climax Series. At the end of the season, the Lions battled the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who finished the season only two games behind, for the league title. This Final Stage series was a rematch of last year's PLCS Final Stage series in which the Hawks defeated the pennant-winning Lions to advance to the Japan Series. During the regular season, Seibu went 12–13 against the Hawks.

Series summary

:* The Pacific League regular season champion is given a one-game advantage in the Final Stage. : This game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, October 12, but was postponed one day due to

Typhoon Hagibis Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Typhoon No.19 or , was a large and costly tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction in Japan. The thirty-eighth depression, ninth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, ...

First stage

Series summary

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Final stage

Series summary

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

References