2023 Pacific League Climax Series

The 2023 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) was a set of two consecutive playoff series in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The first stage began on October 14 and the final stage concluded on October 21. The first stage was a best-of-three series between the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines and the third-place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The final stage was a best-of-six with the Orix Buffaloes, the Pacific League champion, being awarded a one-win advantage against the Marines, the winner of the first stage. The Buffaloes advanced to the 2023 Japan Series to compete against the Hanshin Tigers, the 2023 Central League Climax Series winner. This is the third straight year that the Orix Buffaloes have won the Climax Series.

Background
For the sixth year in a row, Persol Holdings sponsored the naming rights for the Pacific League Climax Series, and it was officially known as the "2023 Persol Climax Series PA".

The race for the second and third Climax Series spots came down to the end of the season. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched a playoff berth on October 7th, however the seeding and the final team wasn't decided until the last game of the season between the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. With the final rescheduled regular-season game rained out on October 9th, the third- and fourth-placed Marines and Eagles, respectively, finally played their final game on October 10th. A win for either team would allow that team to qualify for the Climax Series while eliminating the other. Lotte won the game which allowed them to clinch second place in the Pacific League, bump SoftBank to third place and eliminate Rakuten entirely.

The Orix Buffaloes clinched their third-straight and 15th overall Pacific League pennant on September 20th. Despite slugging outfielder Masataka Yoshida leaving the team in the offseason to play in Major League Baseball, Orix was still able to lead in the standings throughout the majority of the season and clinched the title relatively early compared to the previous two seasons. It was the Buffaloes third three-peat in its history, its first since 1975–1978 when they won four straight as the Braves. It was the first three consecutive Pacific League championships since the Seibu Lions won five straight between 1990 and 1994.

First stage
Intra-league teams play 25 games against each other during the regular season. The Marines and the Hawks split the season series. The two teams had met in the postseason five times prior to this year, with the Marines only winning two of the five series.

Final stage
The championship advanced the Buffaloes directly to the final stage of the Climax Series to host the Marines, the eventual winner of the first stage. In the season series, Orix came out on top and finished 15.5 games ahead of Lotte. The series is the second time the two teams have met in the Climax Series, the other time being the final stage of the 2021 PLCS that Orix won.

Summary

 * * The Pacific League regular season champion is given a one-game advantage in the final stage.
 * † If necessary