The Seibu Lions continue to sink, as Orix youngster Chihiro Kaneko went the distance for a five hit shutout against them while striking out three and walking one for his second shutout and his sixth straight victory in a 4-0 final. Fumiya Nishiguchi started for the Tokorozawa nine and will finish up with a losing record, slipping to 9-11 with five innings of one run, four hit ball. 

There were just three singles between the two sides over the initial third of the contest, but in the fourth, Buffaloes first baseman Hirotoshi Kitagwa reached on an infield hit and DH Greg LaRocca was hit by his 28th pitch of the season, extending his pro yakyu record. He pumped his fist at that fact as he headed to first. Second baseman Mitsutaka Goto grounded into a 1-5 force. Third baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto singled to right and LaRocca negotiated his way home for a 1-0 lead. Rightfielder Yuichi Mukae grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to stall the attack. 

In the sixth, Orix leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu singled to left off of Atsushi Okamoto and Kitagawa was hit by a pitch. Two outs later, Kimoto was also struck by a delivery to load the bases. Mukae singled to right and Muramatsu and Kitagawa both rushed in to widen it to 3-0. Shortstop Keiji Obiki popped up to retard the rally. 

They appended another in the seventh when catcher Takeshi Hidaka doubled to right and went to third on a groundout. Muramatsu walked. Kitagawa singled to center to bring Hidaka in and lift it to 4-0. Koji Hirashita, pinch hitting for LaRocca, grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to stymie further scoring. 

Kaneko allowed a baserunner in the second, thrid, fourth and fifth, but no more, and he was perfect in the sixth and seventh before a scratch one out hit in the eighth. A popup and a groundout resovled that situation and he was tagged for a two out single in the ninth, but that runner languished as the next men grounded to third to make it a memory. 

Seibu second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi played in his 1000th game. 

For Orix, LaRocca was 0-2 with an HBP and is at .286. 

Also getting the heave ho is longtime veteran pitcher Ken Yamasaki, as well as moundsman Ryutaro Doi and infielder Hiromi Fujii. 

DH Julio Zuleta will miss the first round of the playoffs with an oblique strain. 

The Marines have plans to send eight of their taxi squad players to the Shikoku Island League next season, but permission to do so was put off to address other concerns about it, such as the number of players who would be allowed to be dispatched and how it may affect NPB's relationship with the industrial leagues. 

Orix Manager Terry Collins was fined 80,000 yen (about $650) and given the usual written reprimand for his confrontation with the first base umpire Sunday. 

Rakuten The Eagles released pitchers Yasuyuki Kawamoto, Shinji Taninaka, Satoshi Tokumoto and Hisaki Tomioka, catcher Kenji Nagasaka, and outfielder Ryutaro Tsuji. 

Seibu The Lions released pitchers Junichi Kawahara, Takahiro Matsukawa and Akira Miyakoshi plus infielder Satoshi Kuroda and outfielder Kazuya Uchida. 

First baseman Alex Cabrera will return to his native Venezuela Tuesday and hopes to play with Seibu next season. He is making about $5 million. 

Softbank Pitcher Rick Guttormson has will return to the U.S. to have his shoulder looked at. 

Kazumi Saito wil start game one of the playoffs with Toshiya Sugiuchi going in game two. Jayson Stanridge could end up being the game three starter, though that is still under discussion.