NAGOYA — The Chunichi Dragons are three wins away from their first Japan Series title since 1954 and surprisingly it's their pitching staff, not their offense, that's leading the way.
Chunichi Dragons starter Kenichi Nakata, seen pitching in Game 2 of the Japan Series against the Nippon Ham Fighters on Sunday at Sapporo Dome, helped his team tie the best-of-seven championship series at 1-1.
KYODO PHOTOStarter Kenichi Nakata threw eight strong innings in Chunichi's 8-1 victory in Game 2 of the the Japan Series on Sunday to continue the Dragons' dominance of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters over the first two games of the series.
With his team facing an 0-2 hole, Nakata responded by holding the Fighters to a single run while striking out five and helping the Dragons even the series at 1-1.
"I wanted to hold them down by showing the power that the other team's ace (Yu) Darvish showed the day before," Nakata said after Game 2.
Chunichi was impressive on the mound in the first two games, holding the Fighters to just six hits with two Fernando Seguignol homers accounting for all four Nippon Ham runs.
The Fighters are batting just .109 in the series, though Seguignol has a team-high .400 average with two home runs and four RBIs.
"We have to do more offensively to try and take a little bit of the pressure off our pitchers," Fighters manager Trey Hillman said.
Kenshin Kawakami allowed just two hits, fanned seven and retired 21 consecutive batters at one point in Game 1, only to be overshadowed by Darvish's complete-game, 13-strikeout victory.
Nakata followed that with an inspired Game 2 performance.
"He went 106 pitches today," Dragons catcher Motonobu Tanishige said on Sunday. "That's a number that he has not pitched recently but he was very good. His fastball was pretty good today also. His balance was better than in the game against the Giants."
Without Kawakami's costly 0-2 pitch that led to Seguignol's three-run shot in Nippon Ham's 3-1 win in Game 1, the Dragons could potentially be playing with a two-game lead. Seguignol also took Nakata deep in the second game.
"Nakata was something," Chunichi slugger Tyrone Woods said. "Kawakami made one mistake to Seggy. If he doesn't give up that home run, I think we take two from them."
The Dragons have attempted to play it safe with the Nippon Ham slugger, who has carried the Fighters' offense recently.
"They're not pitching around me or anything," Seguignol said. "They're trying to be careful. Nakata was trying to be careful. I just hit a home run."
Things don't get any easier for the Fighters with 12-game winner Kenta Asakura, lefty Takashi Ogasawara and Daisuke Yamai all waiting in the wings. Nippon Ham also has yet to see Chunichi closer Hitoki Iwase, who finished the regular season with 43 saves.
Japan's Fall Classic now shifts to Nagoya, where the Dragons will attempt to take another step toward their first Japan Series title in 53 years. Nippon Ham won both regular-season meetings between the teams at Nagoya Dome this season.
"I feel good," Hillman said before the Fighters' practice on Monday. "I've always liked this dome. I think it plays fair. I think the ball gets out here a little more than at Sapporo Dome but I think it plays fair."
Despite their Game 2 loss, the Fighters appeared loose and upbeat on Monday, with center fielder Hichori Morimoto even taking grounders at shortstop.
"The atmosphere is good," Hillman said. "When they don't produce at the rate they expect themselves to, there's frustration. But I think you'll see guys enjoy being back on the field and I don't think you'll see any lingering effects from being beat pretty bad yesterday."
It was business as usual during the Dragons' workout.
As a group, they had a business-like demeanor and seemed focused on ending the Series at home.
"I don't want to go back to Sapporo," Woods said. "We went up there and we split. Now we have a chance to come here and win three."
Game 3 of the Japan Series begins Tuesday night at 6:10 at Nagoya Dome.
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