JAPAN – Yu Darvish struck out 14 over the distance Saturday, leading the Nippon Ham Fighters to a 4-1 win against the Orix Buffaloes in the first-stage opener of the Pacific League Climax Series playoffs.

Nippon Ham, which finished the regular season in third place, moved one win away from clinching the best-of-three series against second-place Orix and setting up a meeting with the league champion Seibu Lions in the second stage. The Fighters and Buffaloes will meet again Sunday at Kyocera Dome in Game 2.

”When Darvish can hold the opponent to one run I’m quite satisfied. He threw a complete game, so we were able to preserve our other pitchers,” said Nippon Ham manager Masataka Nashida.

Terrmel Sledge led off the second with a homer off Kazuki Kondo (0-1) for a 1-0 lead at Kyocera Dome. But it was a three-run sixth by the 2007 Pacific League champion that helped Darvish get his job done in a somewhat shaky outing.

Hichori Morimoto drew a leadoff walk and one out later Sledge singled to right, putting runners at first and third. Shinji Takahashi followed with a run-scoring single to make it 2-0 and Eiichi Koyano hit a line drive off the glove of third baseman Hirotoshi Kitagawa for an RBI double before Shinya Tsuruoka drove in the fourth run with a sacrifice fly to right.

”Those three runs gave the offense a real boost in the sixth,” Nashida said.

Darvish (1-0) allowed nine hits in a 139-pitch outing and got in and out of trouble, allowing runners to reach scoring position in the first, second and seventh innings before giving up a run on a sacrifice fly by Alex Cabrera with none out and runners on the corners in the eighth.

The right-hander then got Tuffy Rhodes to hit into an inning-ending double play and retired the side in order in the ninth with two strikeouts.

”I was able to persevere with my pitching. I knew that we couldn’t lose this game,” said Darvish, who was hit in the ankle with a sharp line drive by Cabrera for a single in the first but went on to complete the game.

”I think Orix batters also weren’t expecting to see my forkball and it took time for them to adjust,” added Darvish.

Kondo was charged with four runs in 5-1/3 innings. After giving up the second-inning homer to Sledge, he escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam and retired 10 consecutive batters, but a sixth-inning meltdown chased him.

”We were able to shake him up a little like we had practiced doing but even when Darvish gets in a jam he has the ability to get himself out. Kondo pitched a good game, but I probably should have replaced him sooner,” said Orix manager Daijiro Oishi.

The first-stage winner will face the Lions, who won their first league title in four years, in the second stage starting next Friday for a spot in the Japan Series against the winner of the Central League Climax Series.

On Sunday, Shugo Fujii will start for Nippon Ham while Satoshi Komatsu takes the mound for Orix.

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Tags: Japan