DeNA Sweep Hanshin After Ninth-Inning Comeback to Reach Japan Series

Four runs in the ninth send BayStars through

The DeNA BayStars scored four runs in the ninth inning to beat the Hanshin Tigers 8-5 at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya on October 17, 2026, completing four consecutive victories in the Central League Climax Series final stage and securing a Japan Series meeting with the SoftBank Hawks.

Masaki Mimori delivered the decisive hit with Hanshin one strike from keeping its season alive. His single drove in two runs, turning a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead against closer Taisei Kudo. DeNA added two more runs against Rafael Dolis, then survived a final threat as the Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth.

The BayStars advanced despite finishing third in the regular season and entering the final stage against a league champion with two substantial advantages: Hanshin hosted every game and began with one victory already credited to its series record. DeNA overcame both without losing a game.

The result sends the BayStars back to the Japan Series for the first time since 2024, when they also qualified after finishing third and defeated SoftBank for the championship. Their route this year has been especially direct: two wins over the Yomiuri Giants in the opening stage, followed by four over Hanshin.

How Mimori changed the finish

Hanshin entered the ninth leading 5-4, having finally found its scoring touch after three consecutive shutout defeats. Kudo had DeNA runners on first and third and needed one more strike to finish the game.

Mimori instead put the ball into play for a two-run single. Both runners scored, and a game that had offered Hanshin a chance to extend the series suddenly moved within DeNA's reach. Dolis subsequently allowed another two runs, giving the BayStars an 8-5 cushion.

Hanshin still created a chance to answer. Loading the bases put runners on first, second and third, bringing the potential winning run to the plate. DeNA escaped without surrendering its lead and completed the sweep.

BayStars manager Ryoji Aikawa credited his players' collective response against the Central League champions:

We were facing a strong team in the Tigers, we were just desperate and managed to show our attitude of playing as a team in that inning,

DeNA's comeback had begun an inning earlier. Toshiro Miyazaki singled home a run in the eighth to reduce Hanshin's lead from 5-3 to 5-4. That left Mimori in position to put the BayStars ahead with one hit in the ninth.

A rookie supplies an unexpected home run

DeNA first took the lead in the opening inning. Consecutive hits by Shugo Maki and Keita Sano put runners on first and third before Miyazaki's sacrifice fly made it 1-0. A sacrifice fly is a caught ball that travels far enough for a runner to reach home after the catch.

The BayStars nearly scored again on an Encarnacion double, but Hanshin second baseman Takumu Nakano helped complete a relay throw that retired the runner at home. That defensive play kept the Tigers within one run.

With the score tied 1-1 in the fourth, rookie Shuto Naruse supplied one of the game's most unexpected contributions. He hit a fastball from Hanshin starter Kotaro Otake into the left field seats with two outs and a runner on first, putting DeNA ahead 3-1.

Naruse, selected in the fifth round of the draft, had not hit a home run during the regular season. His first Climax Series hit was therefore also his first home run in the competition. Otake was replaced by a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fourth, ending his outing after four innings and three runs allowed.

Hanshin's bats finally break through

Hanshin had entered Game 4 after becoming the first team in Climax Series history to suffer three consecutive shutout losses. Its first run arrived in the opening inning, the team's 28th inning of the series, when Yusuke Oyama singled to left.

Koji Chikamoto was initially ruled out at home on the play, but a replay review changed the decision to safe. Hanshin had tied the game and finally ended the scoring drought that had defined the first three contests.

Oyama finished with four hits and one run batted in. His performance followed a strong finish to the regular season, during which he batted .330 from September onward. In Game 4, he repeatedly reached base as the Tigers produced their most competitive offensive showing of the final stage.

Hanshin eventually turned DeNA's 3-1 advantage into a 5-3 lead. The five runs were enough to put the Tigers ahead entering the late innings, but Miyazaki's eighth-inning single and DeNA's four-run ninth reversed the outcome.

Morishita's return brings two home runs

Shota Morishita returned to the starting lineup in right field, batting third, after concerns about his right hamstring. He had left Game 2 on October 15 after hurting himself while running the bases and appeared only as a pinch hitter in Game 3.

Teruaki Sato also returned, batting fourth and playing third base after missing Games 2 and 3 because of fitness problems. Their absences had limited a lineup built around two of the Central League's leading power hitters.

Morishita immediately restored some of that threat. His solo home run in the fifth cut DeNA's lead to 3-2. With the score level at 3-3 in the seventh, he homered again, this time against former Hanshin pitcher Masumi Hamachi, to put the Tigers ahead. The second ball left his bat at a reported 181 kilometers per hour.

His two home runs came in consecutive plate appearances and took his career Climax Series total to five across four seasons. He became only the second Hanshin player to hit multiple home runs in a playoff or Climax Series game, following Takashi Toritani in 2008.

Morishita had played all 143 regular season games, batting .292 with 35 home runs, 84 runs batted in and a .394 on-base percentage. On-base percentage measures how often a batter reaches base through a hit, a walk or being hit by a pitch. Sato led him in home runs with 39, a difference of four, and won the batting Triple Crown by leading the league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in.

Why four wins settled the series

Hanshin's regular season championship carried a direct reward in the final stage: one automatic victory before play began. The Tigers also had the benefit of playing every game at Koshien, rather than traveling between the two clubs' home grounds.

The format required four credited wins to advance. After DeNA won the first three games, the series stood at three wins to one in its favor, with Hanshin's sole victory coming from the automatic advantage. Game 4 gave the BayStars the fourth win they needed.

DeNA therefore won all four games actually played, while the final series record, including Hanshin's credited victory, was 4-1. The BayStars had already beaten the second-place Giants 2-0 in the opening stage, leaving them with six victories from six postseason games.

Hanshin's exit ended a season in which the club had won consecutive Central League championships for the first time. Oyama said afterward that the players needed to remember the disappointment, share what they had learned individually and as a team, and use it in preparing for the following season.

Maki wins MVP as DeNA look to SoftBank

DeNA confirmed in its Climax Series awards announcement that Shugo Maki had won the Central League Climax Series Most Valuable Player award. Takaki Watarai received the JERA award chosen by fans.

Maki said contributing to the team's success meant a great deal after the disappointment of losing in straight games the previous year. Advancing through consecutive victories this time had given the players confidence, he said, while describing the Japan Series as a different contest in which DeNA would seek to maintain its own style of baseball.

Watarai thanked supporters for helping the club reach the championship series. He said he wanted to repay those who voted for him through results and would approach the Japan Series with renewed focus on winning the title.

SoftBank, representing the Pacific League, will provide a familiar opponent. DeNA beat the Hawks in the 2024 Japan Series after another third-place regular season finish. The 2026 series begins on October 24.

Japan Series schedule

The official Japan Series schedule places Games 1 and 2 and, if needed, Games 6 and 7 at the Central League representative's home, Yokohama Stadium. Games 3 through 5 are scheduled at the Pacific League representative's home, Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka. The seven-game schedule runs through November 1, with the series ending once either team wins four games.

• Game 1: October 24 at Yokohama Stadium, starting at 18:30.
• Game 2: October 25 at Yokohama Stadium, starting at 18:00.
• Game 3: October 27 at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, starting at 18:00.
• Game 4: October 28 at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, starting at 18:00.
• Game 5, if needed: October 29 at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, starting at 18:00.
• Game 6, if needed: October 31 at Yokohama Stadium, starting at 18:30.
• Game 7, if needed: November 1 at Yokohama Stadium, starting at 18:00.

October 26 and October 30 are scheduled as travel days.

The route from 2024 to this sweep

DeNA's latest qualification connects a championship won two years earlier with a sharp reversal of last season's playoff disappointment. The key events show how the club reached another meeting with SoftBank:

• 2024: DeNA finished third in the Central League, reached the Japan Series and defeated SoftBank.
• 2025: DeNA suffered the straight-game playoff defeat recalled by Maki in the club's announcement.
• 2026 opening stage: The third-place BayStars defeated the second-place Giants 2-0.
• October 15, 2026: Morishita injured his right hamstring while running the bases in Game 2 against DeNA.
• October 17, 2026: DeNA won Game 4 at Koshien 8-5, completing four consecutive victories over Hanshin.

The decisive game brought together several kinds of contribution: Naruse's unexpected power, Miyazaki's two scoring plays, Mimori's late single and a final escape with the bases loaded. Hanshin recovered enough offense to lead late, but DeNA converted its last opportunity into another trip to the championship series.

Key Points

• DeNA beat Hanshin 8-5 at Koshien on October 17 to clinch a Japan Series berth.
• Masaki Mimori's two-run single turned a 5-4 ninth-inning deficit into a 6-5 lead.
• The BayStars won all four games played against Hanshin despite the Tigers' automatic one-win advantage.
• DeNA remained unbeaten through six postseason games after also sweeping the Giants.
• Shota Morishita hit two home runs for Hanshin, while Yusuke Oyama collected four hits.
• Shugo Maki won the Central League Climax Series MVP award.
• DeNA will face SoftBank, the opponent it defeated in the 2024 Japan Series, beginning October 24, 2026, at Yokohama Stadium; the seven-game schedule runs through November 1.