Southpaw Daiki Tajima works six strong innings and PL homer king Yutaro Sugimoto bangs a two-run shot in the sixth inning to break up a scoreless battle as the pennant-winning Orix Buffaloes blank the second-seeded Chiba Lotte Marines 2-0 at Kyocera Dome to take a 3-0 lead in the final stage of the Climax Series on Nov. 11. Sugimoto had three hits for Orix, which began the PLCS with a one-win advantage for winning the league title and can book a spot in the Japan Series with their next win or tie in the best-of-seven series. #ChibaLotteMarines #OrixBuffaloes Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
Ayumu Ishikawa, beset by nagging injuries since once being the ace of the staff, tosses his best game in years as the Chiba Lotte Marines edge the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 at Zozo Marine Stadium on Oct. 24 to lower their magic number to win the PL title to three. The righty (6-3) goes eight shutout innings, allowing four hits with no walks and six Ks, and Tatsuhiro Tamura breaks up a scoreless tie with a fifth-inning RBI double while Brandon Laird's solo blast in the eighth turns out to be the difference in the game. #HokkaidoNipponHamFighters #ChibaLotteMarines Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
Chiba Lotte Marines rocking rookie Roki Sasaki is sharp over the first five innings of his six-inning stint on Oct. 23 at Zozo Marine Stadium, fanning a career-best-tying 11, while holding the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to two runs on four hits and a walk. The 19-year-old right-hander is in line to pick up his fourth victory until an error costs the Marines the lead in the eighth inning, but he tops out at 157-kph with his fastball and uses his forkball efficiently to torment the Fighters. #사사키로키 #HokkaidoNipponHamFighters #ChibaLotteMarines Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
Takashi Ogino drives in the winning run with a bases-loaded single in the ninth-inning as the Chiba Lotte Marines walk off the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 4-3 at Zozo Marine Stadium on Oct. 23 to drop their magic number to win the PL title to four. The Marines blow the lead in the eighth inning when Brandon Laird drops a two-out infield popup, but Lotte puts the first three batters on in the ninth ahead of Ogino. #HokkaidoNipponHamFighters #ChibaLotteMarines Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
The Saitama Seibu Lions rough up Masahiro Tanaka (4-8), knocking him out of the game after just 4.2 innings after Takeya “Okawari-kun” Nakamura slugs a two-run blast off the NPB icon en route to a 6-5 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles on Oct. 17 at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi. It's the first time Tanaka, who spent seven seasons with the New York Yankees, leaves a game mid-inning since the Lions put together five consecutive hits against the righty on Aug. 19, 2012. The eight losses are also a single-season worst for Tanaka. #TohokuRakutenGoldenEagles #SaitamaSeibuLions Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
Yutaro Sugimoto slugs home run No. 32, tops in the league, with two on to account for all the scoring as the frontrunning Orix Buffaloes blank the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3-0 at Sapporo Dome on Oct. 15. Sugimoto, a sixth-year player in his first season as a regular, has two of Orix’s four hits as the club scratches out a win to keep its paws on first place by 1 percentage point. #HokkaidoNipponHamFighters #OrixBuffaloes Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
Yuma Mune of the frontrunning Orix Buffaloes gets emotional on the bench after his two-run homer in the eighth inning ties the score in what turns out to be a 2-2 draw with the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Oct. 12. Mune hits into two double plays in his first two trips to the plate before stroking a double to left in the sixth inning and unloading for his eighth homer, which helps the Buffaloes clinch a postseason spot. #ChibaLotteMarines #OrixBuffaloes Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow
Kotaro Kurebayashi, Yuma Mune and Steven Moya all go deep, and Sachiya Yamasaki (8-9) works seven scoreless innings as the frontrunning Orix Buffaloes blank the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 9-0 at Kyocera Dome on Oct. 5. Kurebayashi’s goes yard with a man on in the first inning, Mune hits a solo shot in the fifth and Moya slugs a three-run blast in the sixth to break the game open. #HokkaidoNipponHamFighters #OrixBuffaloes Enjoy Pacific League Games on the following channels(U.S. only): DistroTV http://bit.ly/FTFonDistroTV Samsung TV Plus 1167 XUMO 711 http://bit.ly/XumoFTF Fanatiz http://fanatiz.com Zingo TV 205 Roku Channel 228 http://bit.ly/RokuFTF Local Now http://bit.ly/FTFLocalNow