DeNA Prepares Special Pitching Plans for Climax Series Against Giants
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DeNA, a professional baseball team in Japan, is preparing its pitching strategy for the Climax Series against the Yomiuri Giants.
The Climax Series is a set of special playoff games held after the regular season ends.
DeNA finished the regular season in third place, with a record of 71 wins, 69 losses, and 3 draws.
Interestingly, this is exactly the same record DeNA had in 2024, when the team also placed third.
Because DeNA finished lower than other teams, reaching the final championship from third place would be a kind of underdog success story.
DeNA's coaching staff is now considering special pitching changes for the upcoming Giants series.
They are looking at strategies used in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States.
In MLB, teams often let their closer pitch more than one inning during important games. A closer is usually the team's best relief pitcher, used to protect a lead near the end of a game.
American teams also sometimes use a starting pitcher as a reliever, meaning a pitcher who normally starts games comes in later to help finish one.
DeNA may adopt similar tactics for its Climax Series matches against the Giants.
Meanwhile, the full schedule for the 2026 JERA Climax Series Central League has already been announced.
Vocabulary9 words
- Climax Series
- special playoff games after the normal season
- draws
- games with no winner
- underdog
- a team not expected to win, but that wins anyway
- pitching changes
- switching to a different pitcher during a game
- Major League Baseball
- the top professional baseball league in the United States
- closer
- a top pitcher who finishes close games
- inning
- one part of a baseball game
- starting pitcher
- the pitcher who begins the game
- reliever
- a pitcher who replaces another pitcher later in the game
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Quiz
Answer key
1. 71 wins, 69 losses, 3 draws 2. It finished third place again, with the same record 3. Using closers for multiple innings and starters as relievers
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
DeNA, a professional baseball team in Japan, is preparing its pitching strategy for the _____ Series against the Yomiuri Giants.
The Climax Series is a set of special _____ games held after the regular season ends.
DeNA finished the regular season in _____ place, with a record of 71 wins, 69 losses, and 3 draws.
Interestingly, this is exactly the same record DeNA had in _____, when the team also placed third.
DeNA's coaching staff is now considering special _____ changes for the upcoming Giants series.
They are looking at strategies used in _____ Baseball (MLB) in the United States.
In MLB, teams often let their _____ pitch more than one inning during important games.
American teams also sometimes use a starting pitcher as a _____, meaning a pitcher who normally starts games comes in later to help finish one.
Meanwhile, the full schedule for the 2026 JERA Climax Series Central League has already been _____.
Discussion questions
- Why might a team use its closer for more than one inning in an important game?
- Do you think third-place teams should have a chance to win the championship, like in the Climax Series system? Why or why not?
- What are the benefits and risks of using a starting pitcher as a reliever?
- Have you ever followed a sports team that improved from an underdog position to win a title?
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