Chiba –

The importance of the Chiba Lotte Marines leapfrogging the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks for second place in the final Pacific League standings and home-field advantage in the playoffs was clear before the first pitch in Game 1 of the PL Climax Series First Stage.

The Marines fans were in rare from before the game started, singing joyfully and clutching white signboards the club handed out to create a “whiteout” at Zozo Marine Stadium. Their roars reached almost deafening levels as the night wore on and it became apparent that the sheer force of their support and the skill of their players were more than the Hawks could handle.

Ace Roki Sasaki, who last pitched on Sept. 17, returned to the mound with three perfect innings, Takashi Ogino and Gregory Polanco homered in the first inning and the Marines topped the Hawks 8-2 in the series opener on Saturday night.

"Roki got us off to a good start as a short starter, and then Ogino hit a home run," Marines manager Masato Yoshii said. "I think that set the tone."

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday night in Chiba. The Marines can advance to the final stage against the PL champion Orix Buffaloes with a victory.

Yuji Nishino is scheduled to take the mound for Marines with the Hawks sending their best pitcher, Kohei Arihara, to the hill to try to extend their season.

"I'm just going to do what I can do," Ogino said about Sunday's game. "I'm going to try to play the way I always do and do the things I normally do during the season."

The Hawks were in second place in the standings until the Marines beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to pass them on the last day of the regular season.

That result ensured the Marines would host the first stage, and their fans showed up in droves — the game was a sellout — and created a loud and electric atmosphere.

Ogino gave the fans an extra jolt with a leadoff homer to left in the first that flew just inside the foul pole in left.

"I thought it might go foul," Ogino said. I think it was close, but I happy it didn't."

Polanco, who shared this season's home run crown with the Hawks' Kensuke Kondo and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' Hideto Asamura, tacked on another run with a deep drive to right-center later in the inning.

Polanco also had an RBI groundout in the third. Hisanori Yasuda drove in runs with an RBI double in the sixth and a run-scoring hit in the eighth, and Kyota Fujiwara hit a two-run single in the same frame.

Yasuda initially tried to bunt during his at-bat in the sixth, but squared up to hit after falling behind 0-2 in the count. Yoshii was seen on the bench smiling and apologizing to Yasuda after his double.

"I gave him the bunt sign, but I guess I didn't need to," Yoshii said. "It was a good hit."

Lotte's cautious approach with Sasaki since his return from an oblique injury continued in Game 1.

The young ace was taken off the roster due to an oblique injury on July 25 and returned in September. The team eased him along with brief outings before he was deregistered again on Sept. 24 due to a fever.

Sasaki only threw 41 pitches against the Hawks in Saturday's win, finishing with four strikeouts.

"I don't think he is quite back to normal yet," Yoshii said. "But considering his condition right now, he definitely threw the the best pitches that he could."

Toshiya Nakamura, the second of six Lotte pitchers, earned the win in relief.

Hawks starter Carter Stewart Jr.’s troubles containing the Lotte lineup followed him into the postseason. Stewart allowed eight runs in 10 innings against the Marines during the regular season. He allowed four runs — three earned — in 2⅓ innings in the loss in Game. 1

The Hawks trailed from the start, with Ogino sending Stewart’s second pitch of the game into the seats in left. Polanco’s shot made it 2-0 in the opening frame.

The Marines loaded the bases in the third and got one run across on Polanco’s grounder to shortstop Kenta Imamiya, who made a throwing error that allowed a second run to score.

The Hawks’ Yuki Yanagita cut the lead in half with a two-run homer in the sixth.

The Marines responded with Yasuda’s double and Fujiwara’s two-run hit to stretch the lead to 7-2.