# 2018 Central League Climax Series

The 2018 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a post-season playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined who would represent the Central League in the Japan Series. The First Stage was a best-of-three series and the Final Stage was a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2018 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2018 Pacific League Climax Series winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began with the first game of the First Stage on October 13.

## First stage
### Summary

Yomiuri Giants won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 13 | Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 3:06 | 30,735 |
| 2 | October 14 | Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 0 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 2:40 | 30,798 |

### Game 1

Saturday, October 13, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Yomiuri | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Yakult | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| WP: Koji Uehara (1–0) LP: Yasuhiro Ogawa (0–1) Sv: Shun Yamaguchi (1) Home runs: YOM: Hayato Sakamoto (1) YAK: None Attendance: 30,735 |||||||||||||

### Game 2

Sunday, October 14, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Yomiuri | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Yakult | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WP: Tomoyuki Sugano (1–0) LP: Juri Hara (0–1) Home runs: YOM: Hisayoshi Chono (1), Casey McGehee (1), Yoshiyuki Kamei (1) YAK: None Attendance: 30,798 |||||||||||||

## Final stage
### Summary

Hiroshima Toyo Carp won the series, 4–0*.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 17 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 6 | Mazda Stadium | 3:07 | 31,311 |
| 2 | October 18 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 4 | Mazda Stadium | 2:26 | 31,356 |
| 3 | October 19 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 5 | Mazda Stadium | 3:02 | 31,371 |
    * The Central League regular season champion is given a one-game advantage in the Final Stage.

### Game 1

Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Yomiuri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Hiroshima | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| WP: Daichi Osera (1–0) LP: Cristopher Mercedes (0–1) Home runs: YOM: None HIR: Seiya Suzuki (1), Yoshihiro Maru (1) Attendance: 31,311 |||||||||||||

### Game 2

Thursday, October 18, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Yomiuri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Hiroshima | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | X | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| WP: Kris Johnson (1–0) LP: Seishu Hatake (0–1) Sv: Shota Nakazaki (1) Home runs: YOM: None HIR: Ryosuke Kikuchi (1) Attendance: 31,356 |||||||||||||

### Game 3

Thursday, October 19, 2018, 6:00 pm (JST) at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Yomiuri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Hiroshima | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| WP: Aren Kuri (1–0) LP: Nobutaka Imamura (0–1) Sv: Geronimo Franzua (1) Home runs: YOM: None HIR: Yoshihiro Maru (2) Attendance: 31,371 |||||||||||||