The gauntlet the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles faced the past 11 games, could've all-but ended their season.
Instead, it might have been just the push they needed.
Once in fifth place and all but left for dead in the playoff race with nine consecutive games against the top two teams in Japanese baseball looming, the Eagles have gone on a run no one saw coming. A streak included a recent seven-game win streak through Saturday.
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