2026 Persol Climax Series Pacific League Final Stage Game 1: Softbank Hawks 6-4 Nippon-Ham (14th, Mizuho PayPay Dome)

Softbank Hawks came from behind to beat Nippon-Ham, bringing their series record to 3 wins and 0 losses, including a two-win advantage. In the 2nd inning with a one-run lead and one out with the bases loaded, short stop Shoji dove for a ball hit by Nippon-Ham's Yamagata that looked like it would go through the gap between third and short, getting the force out at second base. Although they lost a run, Manager Kokubo praised the second-year prospect, saying, "We were able to take the lead in a good way, but Moinelo had his worst performance of the year... If it weren't for the play by Shoji at short stop when it looked like it would become a big inning, their attack wouldn't have stopped in that inning. That play on Yamagata's hit-like ball was huge today."

Starter Moinelo struggled, giving up 6 hits and 3 runs with 4 walks and Hit by Pitches over 2 and 2/3 innings. Even so, rookie reliever Suguru Suzuki, who took the mound with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning after falling behind by two runs, put out the fire by getting Yamagata to ground out to shortstop, and then retired the side in order in the fourth inning. Immediately after, the lineup turned the game around with 5 runs in a single burst. The manager praised his courage, saying, 'We saw many scenes like that during the season, where he comes in during a pinch, continues into the next inning, and shuts them down in order. Then we turn the game around in the bottom half. It happened during the season, and today felt exactly like that.'