Seibu Wins the Japan Series
Another Lion in the Konami Cup as Seibu came from behind to beat the Yomiuri Giants in thier own backyard 3-2. They had to beat them twice there and they did. Check http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13421 for more detail.
Hiroshi Hirao becomes an unlikely hero. According to japanesebaseball.com he was the number two pick of the Hanshin Tigers in 1994. He’s never had a season where he has started more than 76 games or gotten over 230 at bats. During the regular season he had hit an uninspiring .258. So it was quite a thrill for him to drive in all four runs in the Lions game six victory, when in game five he had hit a homerun in a losing cause. It must have been even a bigger thrill for him to get the go ahead RBI single with two outs in the eighth of game seven that gave the Seibu Lions the Japan series. Can you say MVP?
The Giants had taken a 2-0 lead after a wild pitch in the first inning scored one run and a solo shot by Hayato Sakamoto in the second inning put them up 2-0. After that, the Lions went to the pen and four relievers held the Lions scoreless for the remainer of the game.
The Lions pulled to within one when Hiram Bocachica hit a solo homerun in the fifth. That was the only run that Tetsuya Utsumi allowed when he was pulled from the game with one out in the sixth inning. He had given up only three hits and a walk.
With the score 2-1 going into the eighth inning the Lions roared. A hit by pitch, stolen base and sacrifice bunt moved Yasuyuki Kataoka to third. He then scored the second run on a dribbler to third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara. The back to back walks then set the stage for the Hiroshi single.
Alex Garman then came on to pitch the eighth and retired all three batters he faced. He repeated that feat in the ninth to give the Lions the victory. Three Lions and a Wyvern in a Konami Cup? Something tells me that the Wyvern will prevail, which would be the first time a non-Japanese team wins the Konami Cup.
There were 44, 737 fans that attended the final.