2008 Central League Climax Series

2008 Central League Climax Series
2008 Central League Climax Series
First stage
Team (Wins)
Team (Wins)
Chunichi Dragons (2)
Hanshin Tigers (1)
Dates	October 18–20
Second stage
Team (Wins)
Team (Wins)
Yomiuri Giants (3)
Chunichi Dragons (1)
Dates	October 22–25
MVP	Alex Ramírez (Yomiuri)

The 2008 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) consisted of two consecutive series, Stage 1 being a best-of-three series and Stage 2 being a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2008 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2008 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began on with the first game of Stage 1 on October 18 and ended with the final game of Stage 2 on October 25.

First stage

Summary

The Hanshin Tigers were awarded home-field advantage for the entirety of Stage 1; however, all three games were played in the Orix Buffaloes' Kyocera Osaka Dome, a neutral field, as renovations to Koshien Stadium prevented postseason play.^[1]

Chunichi Dragons won the series, 2–1.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 18	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Hanshin Tigers – 0	Kyocera Dome Osaka	2:49	33,824^[2]
2	October 19	Chunichi Dragons – 3, Hanshin Tigers – 7	Kyocera Dome Osaka	3:16	33,881^[3]
3	October 20	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Hanshin Tigers – 0	Kyocera Dome Osaka	2:38	33,021^[4]

Game 1

Saturday, October 18, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	5	0
Hanshin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
WP: Kenshin Kawakami (1–0) LP: Yuya Ando (0–1) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (1) Home runs: CHU: Masahiko Morino (1) HAN: None

Game 2

Sunday, October 19, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	10	0
Hanshin	4	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	X	7	11	0
WP: Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (1–0) LP: Chen Wei-Yin (0–1) Home runs: CHU: Masahiko Morino (2), Tyrone Woods (1) HAN: Takashi Toritani (2)

Game 3

Monday, October 20, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	3
Hanshin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
WP: Kazuki Yoshimi (1–0) LP: Kyuji Fujikawa (0–1) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (2) Home runs: CHU: Tyrone Woods (2) HAN: None

Second stage

Summary

Yomiuri Giants won the series, 3–1–1*.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 22	Chunichi Dragons – 4, Yomiuri Giants – 3	Tokyo Dome	4:05	44,072^[5]
2	October 23	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 11	Tokyo Dome	2:45	43,536^[6]
3	October 24	Chunichi Dragons – 5, Yomiuri Giants – 5 (12)	Tokyo Dome	4:42	45,846^[7]
4	October 25	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 6	Tokyo Dome	3:27	46,797^[8]

* The Central League regular season champion is given a one-game advantage in the Second Stage.

Game 1

Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	4	9	0
Yomiuri	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
WP: Masato Kobayashi (1–0) LP: Marc Kroon (0–1) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (1) Home runs: CHU: Lee Byung-Kyu (1), Tyrone Woods (1) YOM: Yoshitomo Tani (1)

Game 2

Thursday, October 23, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0
Yomiuri	2	4	0	2	0	0	1	2	X	11	17	0
WP: Koji Uehara (1–0) LP: Kenta Asakura (0–1) Home runs: CHU: Masahiko Morino (1), Ryosuke Hirata (1) YOM: Michihiro Ogasawara (2), Alex Ramírez (1), Lee Seung-Yeop (1)

Game 3

Friday, October 24, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	5	8	0
Yomiuri	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	8	0
Home runs: CHU: Kazuhiro Wada (1), Tyrone Woods (2) YOM: Kazunari Tsuruoka (1), Lee Seung-Yeop (2)

Game 4

Saturday, October 25, 2008, 6:00 pm (JST) at Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	7	0
Yomiuri	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	X	6	11	1
WP: Marc Kroon (1–1) LP: Akifumi Takahashi (0–1) Home runs: CHU: Tyrone Woods (3) YOM: Alex Ramírez (2)

References

^ Graczyk, Wayne (September 21, 2008). "Stairs still slugging away 15 years after Japan stint". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Saturday, October 18, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Sunday, October 19, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Monday, October 20, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Wednesday, October 22, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Thursday, October 23, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Friday, October 24, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
^ "Saturday, October 25, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[1] Graczyk, Wayne (September 21, 2008). "Stairs still slugging away 15 years after Japan stint". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[2] "Saturday, October 18, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[3] "Sunday, October 19, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[4] "Monday, October 20, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[5] "Wednesday, October 22, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[6] "Thursday, October 23, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[7] "Friday, October 24, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

[8] "Saturday, October 25, 2008". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 16, 2009.

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