Hotaka Yamakawa blasted a home run for the third straight Japan Series game as the SoftBank Hawks held on to beat the Hanshin Tigers 3-2. The Hawks took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The game took place at Hanshin's Koshien Stadium.
Game 4 of the Japan Series took place on Wednesday night at Koshien Stadium. The SoftBank Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when leadoff hitter Hotaka Yamakawa launched an 0-2 fastball from Haruto Takahashi (0-1) deep to the batter's eye beyond center field for a solo home run. This marked Yamakawa's third straight homer in the series, tying a record held by five other players, including former Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima in 2000. The 33-year-old slugger said, "It was a little past my bat, but I got a good look at it and was able to make the swing I wanted."
Ryosuke Otsu (1-0) delivered five shutout innings of three-hit ball for the Hawks. They extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Tatsuru Yanagimachi's bases-loaded sacrifice fly and added another run in the sixth on pinch-hitter Kensuke Kondo's line-drive single that scored a runner from second. The Tigers rallied in the eighth against right-hander Yuki Matsumoto, with Teruaki Sato driving in a run on a single through center field and Yusuke Oyama making it 3-2 on a fielder's choice, but they stranded a runner. Closer Kazuki Sugiyama then sealed the win with a three-up, three-down ninth.
Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo said, "Yamakawa's powerful home runs have given us the advantage in these games. I want us to keep going like this and get one more win. We must win every game. We won't change anything." Beaten by the DeNA BayStars last year, the Hawks seek their first Japan Series title since 2020 and will try to clinch in Thursday's Game 5 at Koshien, where the Tigers aim to extend their quest for a title last won in 2023.