SoftBank Sweeps Nippon-Ham to Reach Third Straight Japan Series

Three comebacks send the Hawks through

Tomoya Masaki turned a costly throwing error into a winning response as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks beat the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 6-2 on October 16, 2026, securing their third consecutive Japan Series appearance. His two-run home run in the fifth inning put SoftBank ahead for good before a crowd of 39,894 at Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka.

SoftBank won all three games played in the Pacific League Climax Series final stage, coming from behind each time. With the two wins awarded to the league champion before the series began, the Hawks advanced with an official series record of 5-0. Nippon-Ham, which entered the playoffs in third place, never found the victory it needed to extend its season.

Nippon Professional Baseball's official game record lists Maeda as the winning pitcher and Kato as the loser, and confirms Masaki's two-run homer in the fifth. The game began at 6 p.m. and ended at 9:02 p.m., completing SoftBank's passage in three hours and two minutes.

Yudai Shoji, a player in his second professional season, was named the final stage's most valuable player after helping create the scoring chances that repeatedly brought SoftBank back into games. The Hawks now move toward a Japan Series scheduled to begin October 24 at the Central League representative's home ground.

Why three victories produced a 5-0 record

SoftBank's sweep came under a changed playoff format that rewarded its regular season lead. The Hawks finished more than 10 games ahead of Nippon-Ham and began the final stage with two credited wins. The series allowed a maximum of seven games on the field, with five total wins needed to advance.

The format is set out in Nippon Professional Baseball's Climax Series notice, titled "2026年 セ・パ クライマックスシリーズについてのお知らせ" and published August 24, 2026. The notice identifies Pacific League Agreement Article 1 as the governing provision and specifies a two-win advantage and a maximum of seven games, with five wins needed to advance, when the regular season gap is at least 10 games or the first-stage winner's winning percentage is below .500. SoftBank finished 13 games ahead of Nippon-Ham, qualifying for the two-win advantage.

SoftBank therefore needed three actual victories, while Nippon-Ham needed five. After losing on October 14 and 15, the Fighters entered Game 3 facing elimination at 0-4 in the series standings. The Hawks converted that advantage into qualification at their first opportunity.

SoftBank had also won its third consecutive Pacific League regular season championship. Its Japan Series berth is the franchise's 23rd, including appearances during its years as Nankai. The next objective is a second consecutive national championship and a 12th title in franchise history.

Nippon-Ham twice takes the lead

Nippon-Ham put pressure on Yugo Maeda immediately in his first postseason appearance. Yuya Gunji opened the first inning with a double, and Tatsuki Mizuno followed with a walk. Maeda recovered to record two outs, but Kotaro Kiyomiya singled to right field to bring home the opening run.

Shoji answered in the third. Batting ninth, he came up with one out and a runner on third base and sent a single into left field, tying the score at 1-1. His position at the bottom of the batting order gave SoftBank another route to runs before its leading hitters came around again.

The Fighters regained the lead in the fifth. An infield hit and Masaki's throwing error at first base left runners on second and third with nobody out. Maeda again worked his way to two outs, but Mizuno's infield single brought home a run for a 2-1 Nippon-Ham advantage.

Nippon-Ham had now led twice in a game it had to win. SoftBank's response came in the very next half inning, leaving the visitors little time to build on either the run or the defensive mistake that helped produce it.

Masaki answers his error with a home run

Shoji began the bottom of the fifth with a double. By the time Masaki faced Takayuki Kato, there was one out and a runner on second. Masaki worked the count to three balls and two strikes, then drove the sixth pitch into the stands in left center field.

The home run traveled 124 meters, with a measured exit speed of 173 kilometers per hour and a launch angle of 23 degrees. More simply, Masaki struck the ball hard enough and high enough to carry beyond the outfield fence, scoring both himself and Shoji and changing a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Masaki, the 26-year-old outfielder playing first base, said his earlier mistake was on his mind when he returned to bat. His response was his first career Climax Series home run, following a regular season in which he hit 28 homers and reached the required number of plate appearances to qualify for batting titles for the first time.

Kato left the game after the homer. He allowed six hits and three runs in four and one-third innings. Nippon-Ham had briefly given its starter a fresh lead, but one swing ended his outing and left the Fighters chasing the game.

Shoji makes the bottom of the order count

Shoji's MVP award reflected contributions across the series rather than one decisive swing. In the clincher, he drove in the tying run in the third and scored the go-ahead run after doubling in the fifth. He delivered hits that brought runners home in two of the three games.

The partnership between ninth batter Shoji and leadoff hitter Masaki also worked in Game 2. Shoji tripled, and Masaki followed with a double that struck the left field fence and drove him in. Their places in the order meant the final hitter and the first hitter could combine as a continuous attacking pair.

SoftBank's lineup benefited from two players who had taken on larger roles during the season. Shoji was in his second professional year, while Masaki was in his fifth. Their production helped explain why the Hawks could recover even when Nippon-Ham scored first or moved ahead again.

Maeda and the bullpen finish the job

Maeda completed five innings, allowing two runs, only one of them earned. An earned run is one charged to the pitcher without the effect of a fielding error. Masaki's mistake helped account for the difference between Maeda's two runs allowed and his single earned run.

The young left-hander entered the playoffs after a regular season record of 12 wins and one loss. His first postseason start brought a different kind of pressure, with a Japan Series place within reach and Nippon-Ham fighting to keep its season alive.

At 21 years and two months, Maeda became the youngest pitcher in franchise history to earn a Climax Series victory. He surpassed Junpei Takahashi, who was 22 years and five months when he won against Seibu in the 2019 final stage.

Suzuki, Hernandez, Matsumoto and Sugiyama followed Maeda and kept Nippon-Ham scoreless over the final four innings. SoftBank added two runs in the sixth through scoring hits by Yudai Yamamoto and Tatsuru Yanagimachi, then made it 6-2 on Daichi Makihara's sacrifice fly in the seventh. A sacrifice fly scores a runner after an outfielder catches the ball and the runner tags up before advancing.

Taiwanese pitcher Sun Yi-lei had a difficult final appearance of the season for Nippon-Ham. He faced three batters, recorded one out and was charged with two runs. After Makihara walked, Yamamoto's hit helped SoftBank widen the gap and give its relievers more room to work.

A sweep built on repeated recoveries

SoftBank's three comeback victories followed a regular season in which it recorded 44 comeback wins, the most among Japan's 12 professional teams. The final stage continued that pattern, although each game required a different response.

Manager Hiroki Kokubo made an early pitching change in Game 1, removing starter Livan Moinelo during the third inning when he was struggling. In Game 2, Ryoya Kurihara supplied the dramatic finish: a grand slam in the ninth inning with the score tied 2-2 and one out.

Kurihara's drive was only the second walk-off grand slam in Climax Series history, following Terrmel Sledge's for Nippon-Ham in 2009. A walk-off hit ends the game immediately because it gives the home team a winning lead in its final turn at bat.

The decisive dates show how quickly the series moved:

• October 14: SoftBank won Game 1 after coming from behind.
• October 15: Kurihara's ninth-inning grand slam won Game 2.
• October 16: Masaki's fifth-inning homer helped secure a 6-2 victory and the sweep.
• October 24: The Japan Series is scheduled to begin at the Central League team's home ground.

A difficult matchup ends Nippon-Ham's season

Nippon-Ham had advanced from third place through the opening playoff round, but SoftBank had been an especially difficult opponent throughout the year. The Hawks went 18-5 with two ties against the Fighters during the regular season.

Adding the three playoff games gives SoftBank 21 wins against Nippon-Ham's five, with two ties. Excluding those ties, the Hawks won about 81 percent of their meetings, compared with about 78 percent during the regular season alone. The final stage extended an existing pattern of success against this opponent.

SoftBank manager Hiroki Kokubo acknowledged the eliminated Fighters during his interview in the stadium after the game:

ファイターズの思いも背負って日本シリーズに向かいます

Kokubo said the Hawks would head to the Japan Series carrying the Fighters' hopes with them. For Nippon-Ham, the season ended despite two leads in the final game and a playoff run that had carried it beyond its third place finish.

DeNA moves within one win of joining SoftBank

SoftBank's opponent had not been decided when it clinched. In the Central League final stage on October 16, third place DeNA beat league champion Hanshin 4-0 at Koshien Stadium for its third consecutive shutout victory.

Keita Sano hit a three-run homer in the third inning, and starter Koshin Katayama pitched seven scoreless innings. Three DeNA pitchers combined to keep Hanshin from scoring, extending the Tigers' scoreless stretch across all three games played in the final stage.

DeNA led the series 3-1, including Hanshin's one-win advantage, and needed one more victory to advance. It had already eliminated the second place Yomiuri Giants with two straight wins in the opening round. Another victory would complete a second successive series win over a team that finished above it in the standings.

SoftBank, meanwhile, had secured its place with time to prepare for either Hanshin or DeNA. Its route was complete: three games, three recoveries from behind and another chance to turn Pacific League supremacy into a national title.

Key Points

• SoftBank beat Nippon-Ham 6-2 in Fukuoka on October 16 to reach its third consecutive Japan Series.
• The Hawks won all three games played and advanced 5-0 when their two-win league champion advantage was included.
• Tomoya Masaki's two-run homer in the fifth reversed a 2-1 deficit after his throwing error helped Nippon-Ham take the lead.
• Yudai Shoji was named final stage MVP, while Yugo Maeda earned the victory with five innings allowing two runs, one earned.
• DeNA beat Hanshin 4-0 to move within one victory of the other Japan Series berth.
• The Japan Series is scheduled to open October 24 at the Central League representative's home ground.