The Hiroshima Carp became just the second team in the history of the Central League to win three straight pennants on Wednesday, when they beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 10-0.
Hiroshima's ninth CL pennant hunt began with the Carp reminding the league of their offensive credentials, scoring 26 runs over four straight wins. Although they have not been in first place from Day 1, the Carp have never trailed the league leader by as much as a game, and since April 22 have never trailed at all.
"It was a long season," Carp manager Koichi Ogata said. "We had some tough series early on, but we have some really strong players. On top of that, a number of young players came up and made big contributions."