Baseball: Lions power to 23rd Pacific League championship

The Seibu Lions clinched their second straight Pacific League pennant on Tuesday following a 12-4 rout of the Lotte Marines.The pennant is the franchise's 23rd, the most in the PL and second in Japan only to the recently crowned Yomiuri Giants' 46, including nine in the single-league era. The back-to-back PL pennants are Seibu's first since 1997 and 1998.For the second straight year, the Lions will lead both leagues in runs scored. They are also almost certain to have the league's worst team earned run average again.Even putting their pitching woes aside, the Lions were expected to face a t…READ FULL ARTICLE