Overview

• Playing at Belluna Dome on Sept. 27, SoftBank secured back-to-back league championships and the franchise’s 21st title including the Nankai and Daiei eras.
• Kurihara broke a 1–1 tie in the fifth with a two-run drive over center for a double.
• Yanagimachi followed later in the inning with an RBI single to complete a three-run surge.
• Sugiyama closed the ninth to finish a game started by Arihara, who logged seven strikeouts over seven innings with one run allowed.
• The clinch came a day after a comeback win at Rakuten, highlighted by Kondo’s game-tying triple and Kurihara’s go-ahead hit.