Nov 01 2007 02:42 PM
How about this finish in the Japan Series?!?
| ]Perfect ending / Dragons grab 1st Japan Series title since 1954 as Yamai, Iwase share 'gem' John E. Gibson / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter NAGOYA--Chunichi came up with a near-perfect ending for its championship run, and it came out of the blue. Right-hander Daisuke Yamai and Hitoki Iwase combined to retire all 27 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters they faced as the Dragons won 1-0 in Game 5 to capture their first Japan Series title since 1954. Yamai, who only appeared in 14 games and had a 6-4 record, pitched like he was out to single-handedly end the team's 53 years of frustration by tossing eight perfect innings. There has never been a no-hitter in Japan Series history, and Yamai's effort set a Series record for hitless innings by a starter. He fired up the 38,118 spectators at Nagoya Dome by getting 12 groundouts, six strikeouts, five flyouts and a foulout in a heart-stopping win in the Series rematch against the Fighters. "It's been a long time," Chunichi skipper Hiromitsu Ochiai said of the title drought. "These past four years have also been long," added Ochiai, who guided the Dragons to the Series in 2004 and last year, only to lose. Yamai was brilliant, but Ochiai entrusted the ninth inning to his lights-out closer Iwase, who set down the three batters he faced to set off a wild celebration. "I don't remember everything about the game," Ochiai said in the on-field interview. "I just know two guys--Yamai and Iwase--were perfect. "I knew we were going to have to win this game 1-0, but I never thought Yamai would do what he did." The sixth-year right-hander said he was at top of his game from the start in outdueling Game 1 winner Yu Darvish. "All my pitches were working, especially my slider," said Yamai, who is 2-0 with 14 shutout innings in two career Series starts. "And [catcher Motonobu] Tanishige did a fantastic job of picking spots." The Dragons took the Series with four straight wins, the same way they lost last year to the Fighters. It was Chunichi's second Series title overall, and the Dragons combined perfection from the mound with a second-inning sacrifice fly off the bat of 19-year-old rookie Ryota Hirata, who has now played more postseason games than those in the regular season. "I was thinking, 'Please, man, just hit a sacrifice fly,' and he came up big for us," said Tyrone Woods, who scored the lone run after singling and going to third on Norihiro Nakamura's double. Nakamura, who joined Chunichi in the offseason on a tryout after leaving the Orix Buffaloes, was the hands-down MVP of the Series. The 14-year veteran tormented the Fighters for four RBIs and four doubles--a record for a five-game Series--including a second-inning shot off the right-field wall. "This is awesome. I have been through a lot since Jan. 1, and I really just appreciate everything the Dragons organization has done for me. "I'm relieved, but it was a tough road," a teary Nakamura said of his inability to work out a deal with Orix in the offseason. After passing his tryout with the Dragons, he played well enough in the preseason to earn the starting job at third. He became an important cog when last year's Central League MVP, Kosuke Fukudome, went down for the season in July. Nakamura helped Chunichi win a championship after the club finished second in the CL title race. The Dragons did it by hitting a groove in the postseason, winning nine of 10 games and shutting the Fighters down when it counted. Nippon Ham only hit a few balls hard against Yamai. Hichori Morimoto's bid for the first hit went for naught when second baseman Masahiro Araki make a diving stop of his hard smash to lead off the fourth inning. Araki fired a strike to Woods from one knee, and Yamai got the next two batters easily. Yamai's first three-ball count was on hot-hitting Makoto Kaneko to lead off the sixth, but he fanned the shortstop on a 3-2 pitch. Fighters starter Darvish, going on four days' rest for the first time since last year's Series, was his usual dominant self. He allowed a run on five hits, while fanning 11 and walking two over eight innings, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. The Fighters had a disappointing end to Trey Hillman's run as manager, setting record lows for a five-game Series for team average at .147 and hits with 22. Hillman, who will take over as skipper of the Kansas City Royals next season, led the franchise to its first Series title in 44 years in 2006, but the Fighters lost three key players in the offseason. After struggling to fill those holes, the team made a late-season run to win back-to-back Pacific League titles for the first time in its history. |
Love these photos. Check out No. 110:
