2023 Central League Climax Series

The 2023 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) is a set of two consecutive playoff series in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The first stage began on October 14 and the final stage will conclude by October 23. The first stage was a best-of-three series between the second-place Hiroshima Toyo Carp and the third-place Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The final stage will be a best-of-six with the Hanshin Tigers, the Central League champion, being awarded a one-win advantage against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, the winner of the first stage. The Tigers advanced to the 2023 Japan Series to compete against the Orix Buffaloes, the 2023 Pacific League Climax Series winner.

First stage
Intra-league teams play 25 games against each other during the regular season. The Carp and the BayStars split the season series, in favor of the Carp. The two teams had met in the postseason twice prior to this year, with each team winning one series apiece (Carp winning the final stage of the 2016 CLCS and Baystars winning the final stage of the 2017 CLCS).

Final stage
The championship advanced the Tigers directly to the final stage of the Climax Series to host the Carp, the eventual winner of the first stage. In the season series, Hanshin came out on top and finished 11.5 games ahead of Hiroshima. The series is the third time the two teams have met in the Climax Series, with their previous two meetings being a series win for each team.

Summary

 * * The Central League regular season champion is given a one-game advantage in the final stage.