OTTAWA-With John Axford’s (Port Dover, ON) St. Louis Cardinals taking on Ryan Dempster’s (Gibsons, BC) Boston Red Sox in this year’s World Series, a Canadian is assured of winning a world championship for the first time since Matt Stairs (Fredericton, NB) and the Philadelphia Phillies hoisted the World Series trophy back in 2008.
Across the globe, in Japan, another Canadian is chasing a title as Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC) and the Yomiuri Giants will look to win back-to-back championships as they take-on the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Japan Series.
Mathieson and the Giants have had their way this season finishing in first place in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball during the regular season which earned them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
In the second round, known as the ‘Climax Series’ the Giants easily handled the Hiroshima Carp defeating them in three straight games to advance to the Japan Series for the second consecutive season.
Mathieson, who participated for Canada at the 2013 World Baseball Classic, has been dominant coming out of the Giants bullpen this season posting a 1.03 ERA in 63 games (61 innings pitched) which put him at the top of the list among set-up pitchers in the league.
In addition to ERA, Mathieson led set-up pitchers in holds with 40 and strikeouts with 77.
His teammate, Tetsuya Yamaguchi, was equally impressive in the set-up role accumulating 38 holds to go along with a 1.22 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 64 appearances.
Combine Mathieson and Yamaguchi’s numbers with that of Giants closer Kentaro Nishimura who led the league with 42 saves and the Giants have a backend of the bullpen that is virtually unstoppable.
Mathieson has been a welcome addition to the Giants since signing with the club prior to the 2012 season.
A former member of the Philadelphia Phillies, his 2012 season saw him carry a 2-0 record with 10 saves and 8 holds in 30 regular season games. He struck out 48 batters in 40 innings, while carrying 1.71 ERA.
Not only did his Giants win the Japan Series, but they also captured the Asia Series that features the top clubs from Korea, Taiwan and Australia.
The Giants will be looking to get back to the Asia Series with a win over the Golden Eagles.
Game one of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for October 26th with Yomiuri hosting the first two games at the Tokyo Dome with games six and seven, if necessary, also taking place there.
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