Potential Pitching Matchups:
Keep in mind that teams do not release this information very far ahead of time, so these are just our speculations, which are partly based on media reports we’ve read.
Game 1 – Saturday, October 28, 6:30 pm (Kyocera Dome): Shoki Murakami (10-6, 1.75 ERA, 137 K) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (16-6, 1.21 ERA)
Game 2 – Sunday, October 29, 6:30 pm (Kyocera Dome): Yuki Nishi (8-5, 3.57 ERA) vs. Hiroya Miyagi (10-4, 2.27 ERA)
Game 3 – Tuesday, October 31, 6:00 pm (Koshien Stadium): Masashi Itoh (10-5, 2.39 ERA) vs. Kohei Azuma (6-0, 2.06 ERA)
Game 4 – Wednesday, November 1, 6:00 pm (Koshien Stadium): Koutaro Ohtake (12-2, 2.26 ERA) vs. Sachiya Yamasaki (11-5, 3.25 ERA)
Game 5 – Thursday, November 2, 6:00 pm (Koshien Stadium): Hiroto Saiki (8-5, 1.82 ERA) vs. Daiki Tajima 6-4, 3.09 ERA)
Game 6 – Saturday, November 4, 6:30 pm (Kyocera Dome): Shoki Murakami (10-6, 1.75 ERA, 137 K) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (16-6, 1.21 ERA)
Game 7 – Sunday, November 5, 6:30 pm (Kyocera Dome): Yuki Nishi (8-5, 3.57 ERA) vs. Hiroya Miyagi (10-4, 2.27 ERA)
Possible Starting Lineups
Hanshin Tigers
- Koji Chikamoto #5 CF
- Takumu Nakano #51 2B
- Shota Morishita #1 RF
- Yusuke Ohyama #3 1B
- Teruaki Sato #8 3B
- Sheldon Neuse #7 LF
- Seishiro Sakamoto #12 C
- Seiya Kinami #0 SS
- Starting Pitcher / DH
Orix Buffaloes
- Keita Nakagawa #67 CF
- Yuma Mune #6 3B
- Tomoya Mori #4 RF
- Leandro Cedeño #40 DH
- Yutaro Sugimoto #99 LF (?)
- Marwin Gonzalez #8 1B
- Kenya Wakatsuki #2 C
- Tomoya Noguchi #9 SS
- Sho Gibo #53 2B
It should be noted that the Tigers have used this lineup pretty much all season, whereas the Buffaloes have shuffled their lineup all year, including the playoffs, to the point where it is impossible to determine what they will do. Further complicating matters is an injury incurred by Sugimoto in the last game of their series against the Marines, and his status for this series is questionnable.
Key bullpen pitchers:
Hanshin – The Tigers’ closer is #13 Suguru Iwazaki (35 SV, 1.77 ERA). Setting him up will be a platoon of capable pitchers such as Daichi Ishii (#69), Hiroya Shimamoto (#46), Yuta Iwasada (#14), Ren Kajiya (#54), Takuma Kirishiki (#47), and Colten Brewer (#98). Also waiting for chances to take the mound will be Masaki Oyokawa (#37), Jeremy Beasley (#99), Kosuke Baba (#18), Junya Nishi (#15), and Masumi Hamachi (#36). All but the last two have an ERA of 2.70 or lower.
Orix – Veteran Yoshihisa Hirano earned 29 saves and had a 1.13 ERA on the year in spite of a pedestrian 1.23 WHIP. Backing him up will be Soichiro Yamazaki (52 IP 2.08 ERA), Yuki Udagawa (45.2 IP 1.77 ERA), Shota Abe (46.2 IP 2.70 ERA), Taisuke Yamaoka (94 IP 2.30 ERA), Motoki Higa (20 IP 2.25 ERA), Atsuya Kogita (49.1 IP 2.19 ERA), Nobuyoshi Yamada (31.1 IP 1.15 ERA), among others.
Suffice it to say neither team will be easy to score on in later innings.
Key Players:
Hanshin – Ohyama & Sato. These two did not perform particularly well in the Climax Series (0 RBIs combined) and will need to come up big when chances arise. On the pitching side, Kirishiki, Brewer, and Shimamoto will be leaned on to get the team out of precarious situations and will need to be at their best.
Orix – Mori. He’s got a big bat and hits well in the clutch. Can he do it on the biggest stage with his new team in his hometown in front of a hostile crowd? Also, how will he do in right field, where he has minimal experience (he is a natural catcher/DH)? Adding to this complication, if Sugimoto is out, can Mori carry the offense? When the Buffaloes play without the DH in Games 3-5, will Cedeño be benched? If so, even more of the load will be on Mori’s shoulders. On the mound, Yamaoka and Higa are wildcards of sorts, who do not have fixed roles but will need to be good to keep Orix in games.
Predictions:
T-Ray says… Believe it or not, I have Yamamoto ending his NPB career with big, dominant wins in Games 1 & 6. The rest of the series will mostly go the Tigers’ way. They will split the weekend at Kyocera Dome, win two of three at Koshien (some unlucky turn of events will cost them one game), and need the last inning of the last game at Kyocera Dome to even out Hirano’s lucky ERA numbers, picking up the final win and taking home their first Japan Series in 38 years. Tigers in 7.
J J J says… Murakami is going to avenge his regular-season loss to Yamamoto in Game 1. The Buffaloes’ lone win will be on Sunday, and the Tigers will take all three games at their home park (Itoh, Ohtake, Saiki will dominate) and the series will not make it back to Osaka. Tigers in 5.