NISHINOMIYA, Sep 8 (Japan/APP): The Hanshin Tigers secured the Central League pennant Sunday at a Nippon Professional Baseball record pace with a 2-0 home win over the Hiroshima Carp.
In their first year under their former star closer and major leaguer Kyuji Fujikawa as manager, the Tigers bettered the previous earliest winning date of Sept. 8, set in 1990 by the Yomiuri Giants, by one day, achieving the feat at Koshien Stadium.
“When I was getting tossed in air, I thought I was representing all of the fans. It’s all thanks to your support and it’s the best feeling ever,” said the 45-year-old skipper from Kochi Prefecture, the first rookie manager to win the pennant from the franchise.
“Lots of pitchers threw (this season) but we have only (Seishiro) Sakamoto and (Ryutaro) Umeno as our catchers. It was thanks to them we got good results no matter who pitched.”
The Tigers have flourished on both offense and defense, scoring a league-high 437 runs and giving up a league-low 296 runs. With Fujikawa paying close attention to his players’ conditions, his team survived without any long-term absences among the key players.
Local favorite Teruaki Sato has 36 home runs and 89 RBIs, both league highs, while right-hander Hiroto Saiki tops the pitching chart with 12 wins and a 1.66 ERA with Shoki Murakami also logging 11 wins.
On a memorable night, the Tigers took the lead in the second inning when Yusuke Oyama doubled and Seiya Kinami singled before a run scored on Nozomu Takatera’s sacrifice fly.
Starter Saiki was ejected from the game following a dangerous pitch to open the fifth inning, but it did not derail the home team, with five relievers each working a scoreless inning for a combined shutout.
One of them was Daichi Ishii, who set an NPB record of hurling 40 straight shutout innings in mid-August and stretched it to 48 on the night, significantly contributing to their team ERA of 2.12, which is also the best in the CL by far.
Koji Chikamoto’s sac fly in the sixth scored their second run after Sakamoto opened the frame with a double, epitomizing their gritty, sometimes unfashionable winning ways that set them apart from their CL rivals.
“No one can really tell what our strength is, and there lies our real strength,” Fujikawa said. “The players have coordinated with coaches behind the scenes to get each out and helped us win games that might have looked unglamorous.”
“In March, we also beat the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. Tigers fans have been known as the most fanatical in Japan since before I was born. We have ten years until our centennial, so let’s continue building our legacy and making the Tigers world famous.”