The Nippon Professional Baseball Climax Series First Stage concluded Monday afternoon with the Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters eliminating the Saitama Seibu Lions to advance to the Pacific League Final Stage. They join the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, who swept the Yomiuri Giants on Sunday, as lower-seeded teams to advance in the Central League.

Game 2: BayStars 4, Giants 1

The BayStars swept the Giants out of the playoffs with a 4-1 win at Tokyo Dome, advancing to the Final Stage for the third straight season. It was also their third consecutive year beating Yomiuri in October.

After hitting the game-winning home run in Game 1, Ryuki Watarai led off Game 2 with another solo shot, this time against CL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Kazuyuki Takemaru.

Shugo Maki followed with a double and scored on Keita Sano’s two-out single, giving DeNA a quick 2-0 lead.

The Giants pulled Takemaru after just two innings and 29 pitches, sending up Shunsuke Sasaki as a pinch hitter with two runners aboard. But interim manager Hideki Hashigami’s aggressive move didn’t pay off, as Sasaki struck out.

Bobby Dalbec cut the deficit to 2-1 with a solo home run in the fourth, but that was the Giants’ only run. Yutaro Ishida allowed five hits and one run over five innings, striking out two to earn the win.

DeNA added insurance in the seventh when veteran Yasutaka Tobashira singled home Sano, who finished the day 4 for 4. Maki then belted his second homer of the series in the eighth to make it 4-1.

Masaki Iwata, Hiromu Ise, Masumi Hamachi, and Sean Reynolds combined for four hitless innings in relief. Reynolds struck out the side in the ninth to record his second save of the series.

“Our players fought hard and showed real resolve,” manager Ryoji Aikawa told Japanese media after the game. “But this was only the first hurdle.”

Game 2: Fighters 1, Lions 0

The Fighters kept their season alive with a 1-0 win over the Lions at Belluna Dome, tying the series at one game apiece after Seibu’s dramatic walk-off win on Saturday.

Kota Tatsu and Kona Takahashi kept the game scoreless through four innings before Nipponham broke through in the fifth. Yua Tamiya led off with a single and later scored on Yuki Nomura’s two-out double into the left-center gap.

Kotaro Kiyomiya followed with a single, but Nomura was thrown out easily at home as the Lions prevented a second run from scoring.

Tatsu allowed three hits over six scoreless innings, striking out seven on 89 pitches. Takahashi worked seven innings on 127 pitches, scattering five hits and one run while walking four and striking out four.

Seibu had opportunities to draw even, putting runners on first and second with nobody out in the fifth but failing to score. Kiyomiya’s diving catch at first base ended another threat in the sixth, and Game 1 hero Alexander Canario struck out with two runners aboard in the seventh.

Ren Fukushima and Mizuki Hori each contributed a scoreless inning before Taisei Yanagawa closed out the ninth, completing a four-pitcher relay for the shutout.

Game 3: Fighters 4, Lions 1

The Fighters completed their reverse sweep with a 4-1 victory, advancing to the Final Stage for the third straight season. After losing Saturday’s opener, Nipponham allowed just one run across the final two games to eliminate the second-seeded Lions.

Nomura delivered the opening run for the second straight day, smacking an RBI single in the second inning against Natsuki Takeuchi. Chusei Mannami added a solo home run to left in the fourth, and Taiki Narama’s sacrifice fly extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth.

Hiromi Itoh allowed three hits and one run over five innings, striking out five and walking one on 68 pitches. Despite being struck by a batted ball, he stayed in the game and limited Seibu’s bases-loaded opportunity in the fifth to Sosuke Genda’s sacrifice fly. Takeuchi also lasted five innings, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out five and issuing no walks.

Nipponham added insurance in the seventh after Nomura led off with a double down the right-field line. Pinch runner Tatsuki Mizuno moved him to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch by Hibiki Shinohara, making it 4-1.

Hiroya Shimamoto and Taisho Tamai combined for a scoreless sixth before Yi-Lei Sun struck out four over two scoreless innings. Yanagawa finished the ninth for his second save of the series, securing Nipponham’s return to the Final Stage.

Manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who remained critical of his team after Game 2 because of a number of mistakes, breathed a sigh of relief after the Game 3 victory. "Everyone did a great job," he said.

Final Stage Matchups

Both Final Stage series begin Wednesday, October 14, at 6:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time (5:00 a.m. EST). The Hanshin Tigers host the BayStars at Koshien with an automatic 1-0 series lead. DeNA must win four games in a maximum of six to reach the Japan Series, while Hanshin needs three wins.

In the Pacific League, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks host the Fighters at Mizuho PayPay Dome with an automatic 2-0 advantage. Nipponham must win five games in a maximum of seven to advance, while SoftBank needs three wins to return to the Japan Series. Both pennant winners have full home-field advantage throughout their respective series.