The SoftBank Hawks reached Japan’s season finale having won their last five regular-season games and their first three postseason games. They also started Game 1 at Yokohama Stadium with a 12-game Japan Series win streak dating back to 2018’s Game 3 against Hiroshima.
Former Texas Ranger Kohei Arihara, backed by the Hawks’ impressive defense, proved to be the difference in Saturday’s 5-3 Game 1 victory. Arihara drove in his first two runs as a pro to open the scoring against Andre Jackson, and SoftBank tacked on three more in the ninth before DeNA held Roberto Osuna’s feet to the fire in a three-run ninth.
Arihara made some big pitches, his fielders made all the routine plays and threw in a few web gems for good measure to help the right-hander get through his rough patches.
Luck also came to his rescue with a man on in the fifth when a foul by pinch-hitter Mike Ford missed making a lasting impression in the right-field foul pole by about 10 feet. After Ford flew out, the next batter scorched a liner into Arihara’s glove so he could double off the runner.
On Sunday, the Hawks extended their current win streak to 10 games and their Japan Series streak to 14 with a 6-3 win with Hotaka Yamakawa homering in the first off Shinichi Onuki, whose command was erratic. Onuki allowed five runs, but DeNA relievers retired the last 16 Hawks’ after Yamakawa singled home Ukyo Shuto in the fourth to make it 6-0.
Hawks lefty Livan Moinelo was razor sharp through four, but got smacked on the hip by a line drive in the fifth, and lost his edge.
“He was hit just above the belt, seemed OK, and said he was good to go,” said Hawks skipper Hiroki Kokubo, who kept him while the BayStars got good swings on nearly every pitch he threw in the two-run fifth. Moinelo kept DeNA off the board through guts and luck in the sixth before leaving after a pair of two-out seventh-inning singles. Shugo Maki doubled in one run against the bullpen, but Darwinzon Hernandez worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Osuna saved it with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Asked about the Hawks Japan Series win streak on Saturday, Kokubo said, “The other wins before this one don’t concern me. The only thing that matters is getting the next three we need to win this series.”
I’ll be taking Monday off before going to Fukuoka for Games 3 and 4, at least.
Tyler Austin, who was pulled for a pinch-runner after his leadoff double in the ninth sparked DeNA’s three-run game 1 rally, was not active for Game 2. The Hawks were without their top run producer Kensuke Kondo in both games in Yokohama, where there was no DH.
Kondo sprained an ankle in late September, and batted well in the Hawks’ three-game playoff sweep but was not ready to play in the outfield. He has, however, batted, and will probably be SoftBank’s DH on Wednesday, when I expect Carter Stewart Jr. will start for the Hawks.
The first Japan Series travel day is also Sawamura Award Day, and I’ll have something on that, although I won’t attend the curmudgeon club meeting where it is decided.
