2018 Central League Climax Series

The 2018 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a post-season playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined who would represent the Central League in the Japan Series. The First Stage was a best-of-three series and the Final Stage was a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2018 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2018 Pacific League Climax Series winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began with the first game of the First Stage on October 13.

2018 Central League Climax Series
First stage
Team (Wins) Manager Season Yomiuri Giants (2) Yoshinobu Takahashi 67–71–5 (.486), 13.5 GB Tokyo Yakult Swallows (0) Junji Ogawa 75–66–2 (.532), 7 GB
Dates	October 13–14
Final stage
Team (Wins) Manager Season Hiroshima Toyo Carp (4) Koichi Ogata 82–59–2 (.582), 7 GA Yomiuri Giants (0) Yoshinobu Takahashi 67–71–5 (.486), 13.5 GB
Dates	October 17–19
MVP	Ryosuke Kikuchi (Carp)

First stage

Summary

Yomiuri Giants won the series, 2–0.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 13	Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1	Meiji Jingu Stadium	3:06	30,735
2	October 14	Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 0	Meiji Jingu Stadium	2:40	30,798

Game 1

Saturday, October 13, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	6	1
Yakult	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
WP: Koji Uehara (1–0)   LP: Yasuhiro Ogawa (0–1)   Sv: Shun Yamaguchi (1) Home runs: YOM: Hayato Sakamoto (1) YAK: None Attendance: 30,735

Game 2

Sunday, October 14, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	7	0
Yakult	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
WP: Tomoyuki Sugano (1–0)   LP: Juri Hara (0–1) Home runs: YOM: Hisayoshi Chono (1), Casey McGehee (1), Yoshiyuki Kamei (1) YAK: None Attendance: 30,798

Final stage

Summary

Hiroshima Toyo Carp won the series, 4–0*.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 17	Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 6	Mazda Stadium	3:07	31,311
2	October 18	Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 4	Mazda Stadium	2:26	31,356
3	October 19	Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 5	Mazda Stadium	3:02	31,371

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

Game 1

Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	0
Hiroshima	1	0	0	3	0	0	1	1	X	6	9	0
WP: Daichi Osera (1–0)   LP: Cristopher Mercedes (0–1) Home runs: YOM: None HIR: Seiya Suzuki (1), Yoshihiro Maru (1) Attendance: 31,311

Game 2

Thursday, October 18, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	0
Hiroshima	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	X	4	3	1
WP: Kris Johnson (1–0)   LP: Seishu Hatake (0–1)   Sv: Shota Nakazaki (1) Home runs: YOM: None HIR: Ryosuke Kikuchi (1) Attendance: 31,356

Game 3

Thursday, October 19, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	2
Hiroshima	0	2	1	0	2	0	0	0	X	5	5	1
WP: Aren Kuri (1–0)   LP: Nobutaka Imamura (0–1)   Sv: Geronimo Franzua (1) Home runs: YOM: None HIR: Yoshihiro Maru (2) Attendance: 31,371