◇ Orix Buffaloes vs. Fukuoka Softbank Game 23 (17th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Fukuoka Softbank won the 2026 Pacific League regular season championship.

Entering this game with a magic number of "2" to clinch the championship, starting pitcher Haru Matsumoto gave up the first pitch in the bottom of the second inning on a solo home run by Kotaro Kobayashi, but showed resilience on the mound. Then, in the top of the sixth inning, the offense tied the game with an RBI single by Tatsuru Yanagimachi, and then took a 2-run lead with an RBI triple by Taisei Makihara. This proved to be the winning run.

In the night game at ES CON FIELD, second-place Saitama Seibu Lions lost to Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, ending their match first. With only a win remaining, Fukuoka Softbank held a six-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, and pitcher Kazuki Sugiyama closed out the game to secure the championship. Amidst the jubilant celebrations of his teammates, manager Hiroki Kokubo was tossed into the air seven times in a celebratory toss.

Before the interleague series, they started with a record of 23 wins and 22 losses, a winning percentage close to 50%, but they finished the interleague series in second place with 14 wins and 4 losses. After the league season resumed, they displayed overwhelming strength. They gradually pulled away from the chasing Saitama Seibu Lions and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, and in September, they won a furious nine straight games to reduce their magic number for winning the championship. This marks their first three-peat in 60 years, since the Nankai The Hawks era in 1966, and their first since becoming Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa