Pinch-hitter Hirotoshi Kitagawa crushed a "sayonara" grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday, giving the Kintetsu Buffaloes their first Pacific League crown in 12 years.
Central League WonLostTiedPct.GB Yakult 72 52 5 .581 - Yomiuri 75 60 2 .556 2.5 Hiroshima 60 61 7 .496 10.5 Yokohama 61 63 3 .492 11.0 Chunichi 59 68 4 .465 14.5 Hanshin 53 76 1 .411 21.5 Pacific League WonLostTiedPct.GB Kintetsu 76 58 2 .567 - Daiei 73 63 1 .537 4.0 Seibu 73 64 0 .533 4.5 Orix 66 64 4 .508 8.0 Lotte 62 71 2 .466 13.5 Nippon Ham 51 81 3 .386 24.0
The Buffs, who beat the Orix BlueWave 6-5 at the Osaka Dome for their seventh straight victory, became the first team in Pacific League history to go from worst to first in just one season. In 2000, the Osaka club finished 58-75-2, 15 games behind the pennant-winning Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.