Photo/Illutration Players toss Satoshi Nakajima, the Orix Buffaloes manager, in the air after winning the Pacific League pennant at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Sept. 20. (Kenta Sujino)

Even with superstar Masataka Yoshida gone to greener pastures, the Orix Buffaloes didn't miss a beat, becoming the first Pacific League team to win three consecutive pennants in the 21st century on Sept. 20. 

The slugging outfielder left for the Boston Red Sox in the major leagues before the start of the season. 

Buffaloes manager Satoshi Nakajima said, “No one can replace him,” so the team had no choice but to pull together.

Nakajima adjusted his lineup every game while assessing the condition of his players.

By the end of this season's 125 games, the Buffaloes had employed 118 different batting lineups. Not a single player appeared in every game.

The strategy, dubbed “Nakaji-magic,” paid off.

The team’s batting average was .248, producing a total of 444 runs. This surpasses last season's stats at the same period, which were .247 and a total of 422 runs.

Ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave another stellar performance throughout the season that had major league scouts watching his every pitch. He recorded a no-hitter for the second consecutive year.

Unlike the closely contested pennant races in the past two years, Orix dominated the standings throughout the season.

The Buffaloes clinched the title by defeating the Chiba Lotte Marines 6-2 at their home Kyocera Dome Osaka on Sept. 20.

The teams went into the game with the Buffaloes magic number standing at two.

In the seventh inning, trailing by two runs, Orix mounted a six-run rally by sending 11 hitters to the plate.

After getting a runner on second following a hit batsman and a wild pitch with two outs, Yutaro Sugimoto drove in the run with a single to center.

The Buffaloes scored the game-tying run on a walk followed by an RBI single by Kotaro Kurebayashi. Tomoya Noguchi knocked in the next run with a base hit, giving the team the lead.

Keita Nakagawa padded the lead with a two-run triple and Masahiro Nishino notched an RBI single to complete the damage. 

THIRD 3-PEAT AND FIRST IN 45 YEARS

The pennant marks the Buffaloes’ 15th title, including 10 times under their former name, the Hankyu Braves.

This is also the team’s third three-peat and its first since 1975-1978 when it secured four straight championships as the Braves.

In the Pacific League, three consecutive pennants mark the first time since the Seibu Lions won five straight titles between 1990 and 1994.

In the Central League this season, the Hanshin Tigers clinched the pennant for the first time in 18 years.

This is the only second time that teams from the Kansai region have won both leagues.

The last time was in 1964 when the Pacific League’s Nankai Hawks based in Osaka, today’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, won the Japan Series championship, beating the Central League’s Tigers.

The Buffaloes will begin playing the final stage of the Climax Series from Oct. 18. If the team defeats the winner of the first stage, it will advance to the Japan Series starting on Oct. 28.

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