FUKUOKA - Tomoya Masaki blasted a walk-off home run as the SoftBank Hawks moved a win away from defending their Japan Series title Tuesday, edging the DeNA BayStars 2-1 in 10 innings for their third straight win in extra innings.
The fascinating best-of-seven series continued to provide late drama upon the Pacific League-winning Hawks' return to their Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka, where they were one out away from the first defeat.
With a runner on second and two out in the ninth inning, Taisei Makihara singled to right off BayStars reliever Sean Reynolds and pinch runner Itua Ikhine narrowly came home. The game-tying run was confirmed after a review request from the visiting BayStars.
Masaki, who had a solo shot in the Game 2 win on Sunday, again went deep for the sayonara homer in the 10th off Jose Ruiz (0-1), connecting on a 2-0 fastball to send the ball over the left-field wall and the home fans wild.
"I was just waiting for a fat pitch. It was 2-0 in the count, so I just thought about having a full swing at it," Masaki said. "I didn't think it was going out and I was running at full speed to reach second, so I couldn't savor it much. It was probably the first walk-off homer in my life."
The BayStars, who also led until the ninth before losing in Game 2, had Katsuki Azuma blanking the Hawks over seven innings on six hits, two walks and two hit batsmen.
They led in the fifth when Takeru Furuichi singled in a runner from second with two outs off Hawks starter Haru Matsumoto, but it was not enough for the Central League club to get their first win in the season-ending matchup.
The BayStars finished the regular season third before grabbing the Japan Series spot with an impressive six straight wins in the postseason Climax Series. They now need four straight wins to win the Japan Series they won in 2024, against the Hawks.
