Copyright kyodonews
NISHINOMIYA, Japan - Hotaka Yamakawa blasted a home run for the third straight Japan Series game Wednesday as the SoftBank Hawks held on to beat the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 and close to within one win of the championship. The Hawks took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Yamakawa broke the ice with his solo bomb in the second inning of Game 4 at Hanshin's Koshien Stadium stronghold. Ryosuke Otsu (1-0) tossed five shutout innings of three-hit ball for the Hawks, who led 3-0 after Tatsuru Yanagimachi's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the fifth and pinch-hitter Kensuke Kondo's line-drive single to score a runner from second in the sixth. The Tigers rallied for two runs in the eighth, with Teruaki Sato driving in one with his single through center field and Yusuke Oyama making it a one-run game on a fielder's choice, but they finished the frame with a runner stranded. Leading off the top of the second, Yamakawa launched an 0-2 fastball from Haruto Takahashi (0-1) deep to the batter's eye beyond center field. "It was a little past my bat, but I got a good look at it and was able to make the swing I wanted," said the 33-year-old slugger, who tied the record for most consecutive Japan Series games with a homer. Only five other players have matched the three-game streak, among them current SoftBank chief baseball officer Kenji Johjima, who did it as Hawks catcher in 2000. After being kept quiet, the Hanshin lineup roared to life while attacking right-hander Yuki Matsumoto in the eighth but could not generate a baserunner against closer Kazuki Sugiyama, who sealed the result for manager Hiroki Kokubo's Hawks by pitching a three-up, three-down ninth. The Hawks, beaten last year by the DeNA BayStars, will look to clinch their first Japan Series crown since 2020 in Thursday's Game 5 at Koshien, where the Tigers will try to stay alive in their quest to recapture the title they last won in 2023. "Yamakawa's powerful home runs have given us the advantage in these games," Kokubo said. "I want us to keep going like this and get one more win. We must win every game. We won't change anything."
