The Nippon Ham Fighters are one win away from moving on to the Japan Series for the second straight year. The Fighters shut out the Chiba Lotte Marines 7-0 at the Sapporo Dome to take a 2-1 lead in the best of five series.
Game 4 will be in Chiba on Tuesday and Game 5, if necessary, will also be in Chiba and is scheduled for Thursday.
The winner of the Pacific League series would not play again until October 27, when the Japan Series is scheduled to start. Game 7 of the Japan Series would be on November 4.
Fighters manager Trey Hillman has announced that he will return to the U.S. after this season and it's possible he could be showing up in an MLB dugout near you next season. Whether or not Hillman wants to come back to the U.S. for the honor of managing the Royals or Pirates is not known.
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