2026 Persol Climax Series Pacific League Final Stage Game 2: Softbank Hawks 6x-2 Nippon-Ham (15th, Mizuho PayPay)

Nippon-Ham suffered a walk-off loss to the Softbank Hawks. In the tied ninth inning, Fukushima gave up a walk-off bases loaded home run to Kurihara and ran out of strength. With this, their head-to-head record stands at 0 wins and 4 losses, including the advantage. They have been pushed to the brink.

infielder Kotaro Kiyomiya batting third, made his presence felt despite lose. He Walk and got a hit off Softbank Hawks starter Uwasawa to create a scoring opportunity with no outs and hit on first and second, and Kiyomiya hit a go-ahead RBI single to left field. In the sixth inning, with Walk, he drew another walk to create another scoring opportunity. "I think I was able to stay calm at the plate, even though Uwasawa was struggling at the start of the game," he reflected.

They attacked Uwasawa early on while he was unstable, but they couldn't deliver the final blow. 'I think there were moments where we could have scored. I also feel like I could have hit better,' he said regretfully.

We've been pushed into a tough situation, but there's nothing left to do but switch our mindset. In the final stage last year, we showed our spirit by winning three games in a row from the edge of a cliff. 'I like being on the edge. It was the same during my time with The Lions, but yes, we are The Fighters on the edge,' he said, looking forward and emphasizing, 'We just have to win tomorrow.'