When the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters seized their franchise's seventh Pacific League pennant on Wednesday, it was in, appropriately enough, a pitching duel.
After all, the difference this season for Nippon Ham was its pitching and defense.
A year ago, the Fighters finished a distant second, 12 games back of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, but under pitching coach Masato Yoshii, the club's ERA improved from 3.62 in 2015 to a league-best 3.06. The pitching improved dramatically, the hitting improved slightly, and with SoftBank having lost slugger Lee Dae-ho, the Fighters were ready to step in.