Kazuya Ojima pitched seven shutout innings as the Chiba Lotte Marines clinched a Pacific League Climax Series berth with a 5-0 win Tuesday over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, who were eliminated from the playoff race at the final hurdle.
After a rainout on Monday, the Marines and Eagles came into the rescheduled regular-season finale at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi placed third and fourth, respectively, with the winner set to advance to the playoffs and the loser packing for the offseason.
Lotte's victory lifted it to second place above the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who will travel to Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba for the PL Climax Series first stage starting Saturday.