NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — The Chiba Lotte Marines defeated the Chunichi Dragons 8-7 Sunday to win the Japan Series in seven games.
Lotte won the series four games to two with one tie for its first championship since the team was managed by American Bobby Valentine in 2005.
Yoshifumi Okada drove in the winning run with a triple in the top of the 12th inning at Nagoya Dome.
The Marines finished third in the Pacific League standings to qualify for the playoffs. They became the first team in the history of Japanese baseball to finish third and go on to win the Japan Series.
