SMBC Japan Series 2026 Game 3: Softbank Hawks vs DeNA (27th, Mizuho PayPay Dome)

The Softbank Hawks caught up to a tie with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning at the very last moment.

In the ninth inning, trailing by one run, Yamakawa struck out swinging with one out and a runner on second. With two outs and a runner on second, Manager Kokubo brought in the speedy Ihine as a pinch runner. Ihine reached home on Makihara's shallow single to right field. With two outs and a runner still on second, Yamamoto Yu flied out to center. The game entered an extra inning for the third consecutive match.

Starting pitcher Haru Matsumoto pitched well, allowing 6 innings and 1 runs. In the first inning, he gave up a doble to Maki with one out but shut down the following batters. In the third inning, he allowed a leadoff hit to right by Furuichi, but neutralized the next batter, Naruse, with a shortstop grounder double play. In the fifth inning, he gave up an RBI single to center to Furuichi with two outs and a runner on second. In the sixth inning, despite facing a situation with runners on second and third with two outs, he closer Tsutsugo by having him struck out swinging.

The lineup continued to struggle with poor execution. In the first inning, with a runner on first and no outs, Shuto grounded into a double play to shortstop. In the third inning, with runners on first and second and one out, Kensuke Kondo grounded into a double play to second base. In the fourth inning, with a runner on first and one out, Yamakawa grounded into a double play to first base, and in the sixth inning, Yanagita also grounded into a double play to shortstop, totaling four double plays. Even in the seventh inning with a runner on second and one out, pinch-hitter Yu Yamamoto lined out to the pitcher for a double play. They were trapped in a 'double play hell' with a total of five double plays.

The 2024 Japan Series features the same matchup as this time. They got off to a strong start with two consecutive wins at Yokohama Stadium, but suffered four straight losses starting from Game 3 after moving to their home stadium. This year, they again won two consecutive games away and entered Game 3 in the exact same situation. Two years ago, they gave up the opening run in the first inning, and although they caught up immediately, they lost 1-4. They missed out on becoming the champions of Japan after losing four straight games following two initial wins.