The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have won seven of their first eight games of the season. That's made the Eagles the early surprise of 2017, especially as they, and not the reigning champion Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters or the powerhouse Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, currently sit atop the Pacific League standings.
Of course, it's only April, but that's no reason to rain on Rakuten's parade.
The Eagles put away the Chiba Lotte Marines in a wet game on Sunday afternoon to notch their second series sweep (although it was just a two-game series) of this young season. Rakuten began the year by sweeping past the Orix Buffaloes on the road and then took two of three from the Hawks at home.
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