The 2018 Pennant Race

Central League

Champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Pacific League

Champion Saitama Seibu Lions

A season archive covering the standings and game results. Rows follow the official final standings.

Final standings (official)

Central League

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RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Hiroshima Toyo Carp Champion14382592.582—
2Tokyo Yakult Swallows14375662.5327.0
3Yomiuri Giants14367715.48613.5
4Yokohama DeNA BayStars14367742.47515.0
5Chunichi Dragons14363782.44719.0
6Hanshin Tigers14362792.44020.0

Pacific League

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RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Saitama Seibu Lions Champion14388532.624—
2Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks14382601.5776.5
3Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters14374663.52913.5
4ORIX Buffaloes14365735.47121.5
5Chiba Lotte Marines14359813.42128.5
6Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles14358823.41429.5

Season highlights

Central League Longest win streak: Yomiuri Giants, 8 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Hiroshima Toyo Carp at +28 Days in first place: Hiroshima Toyo Carp (164 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp stood at 100% in this model.

Eventual champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp bottomed out at 22.3% in this model (as of Apr 13, 2018).

Pacific League Longest win streak: Saitama Seibu Lions, 12 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Saitama Seibu Lions at +36 Days in first place: Saitama Seibu Lions (170 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Saitama Seibu Lions stood at 90.9% in this model.

Eventual champion Saitama Seibu Lions bottomed out at 24.4% in this model (as of Mar 30, 2018).

Days in first place are counted per day with games played.

Games over .500

Balance = wins minus losses. The horizontal zero line is the .500 mark. The ▼ marks along the top of the plot show the days the lead changed hands, colored for the new leader.

Central League Games over .5002018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20AprMayJunJulAugSepOctC +23S +9G −4DB −7D −15T −17C best balance +28TCCDBC
Central League Games over .5002018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20AprMayJunJulAugSepOctC +23S +9G −4DB −7D −15T −17C best balance +28TCC
Pacific League Games over .5002018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctL +35H +22F +8B −8M −22E −24L best balance +36
Pacific League Games over .5002018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctL +35H +22F +8B −8M −22E −24L best balance +36

Standings over time

Daily standings ordered by winning percentage (wins over decisions) at the end of each day. Teams tied on percentage share the same rank, so lines can overlap. Official tiebreakers such as head-to-head records are not applied to the daily series.

Central League Standings over time2018 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctC #1S #2G #3DB #4D #5T #6
Central League Standings over time2018 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctC #1S #2G #3DB #4D #5T #6
Pacific League Standings over time2018 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctL #1H #2F #3B #4M #5E #6
Pacific League Standings over time2018 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctL #1H #2F #3B #4M #5E #6

Win-loss calendar

A tall dark cell is a win, a short light cell a loss, and a thin line a tie - the heights keep the chart readable even without color. Doubleheaders split the day's cell vertically.

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Central League Win-loss calendar2018 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieHiroshima Toyo Carp82 - 59 - 2Tokyo Yakult Swallows75 - 66 - 2Yomiuri Giants67 - 71 - 5Yokohama DeNA BayStars67 - 74 - 2Chunichi Dragons63 - 78 - 2Hanshin Tigers62 - 79 - 2AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

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Pacific League Win-loss calendar2018 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieSaitama Seibu Lions88 - 53 - 2Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks82 - 60 - 1Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters74 - 66 - 3ORIX Buffaloes65 - 73 - 5Chiba Lotte Marines59 - 81 - 3Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles58 - 82 - 3AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

Pennant odds over time

Estimates from re-running the current board's model on each day's data. Probabilities do not guarantee outcomes.

Central League Pennant odds over time2018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctC 100%D 0%DB 0%G 0%S 0%T 0%
Central League Pennant odds over time2018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctC 100%D 0%DB 0%G 0%S 0%T 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctL 100%B 0%E 0%F 0%H 0%M 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2018 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctL 100%B 0%E 0%F 0%H 0%M 0%

Interleague records

Interleague results only (rows in league and official-standings order, not by winning percentage).

Central League

TeamW - L - T
Hiroshima Toyo Carp7 - 11 - 0
Tokyo Yakult Swallows12 - 6 - 0
Yomiuri Giants8 - 10 - 0
Yokohama DeNA BayStars8 - 10 - 0
Chunichi Dragons7 - 11 - 0
Hanshin Tigers6 - 11 - 1

Pacific League

TeamW - L - T
Saitama Seibu Lions10 - 8 - 0
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks11 - 7 - 0
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters10 - 8 - 0
ORIX Buffaloes11 - 6 - 1
Chiba Lotte Marines11 - 7 - 0
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles6 - 12 - 0

Season rules and notes

  • Rows follow the official final standings (not necessarily in order of winning percentage).
  • Beyond the league schedule, "オールスター" (All-Star Series) was held this season (2 games, 2018-07-13 to 2018-07-14). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "CS ファーストS" (Climax Series First Stage) was held this season (5 games, 2018-10-13 to 2018-10-15). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "CS ファイナルS" (Climax Series Final Stage) was held this season (8 games, 2018-10-17 to 2018-10-21). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "日本シリーズ" (Japan Series) was held this season (6 games, 2018-10-27 to 2018-11-03). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.

This page is reference material. Where it differs from the official records, the official records take precedence.