BayStars Sweep Giants to Reach Climax Series Final Stage

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars beat the Yomiuri Giants 4-1 at Tokyo Dome on Sunday, October 11, completing a two-game sweep of the Central League Climax Series First Stage and booking a place in the Final Stage against the Hanshin Tigers.

Ryuki Watarai homered for the second consecutive day, Shugo Maki added a late solo shot and Yuya Ishida limited Yomiuri to one run over five innings. DeNA never trailed after scoring twice in the first inning and closed the best-of-three series without requiring a deciding Game 3.

Watarai and Maki set the tone

Watarai immediately carried his Game 1 momentum into Sunday’s clincher. One day after hitting the ninth-inning home run that decided the opener, the 23-year-old drove Kazuyuki Takemaru’s third pitch into the right-center-field seats for a leadoff homer.

Maki followed with a double and scored when Keita Sano lined a two-out RBI single to right, giving the BayStars a 2-0 advantage before the Giants came to bat.

Yomiuri’s best early chance came in the bottom of the first, when Naoki Yoshikawa doubled and Masaya Izuguchi singled to put runners at the corners with one out. Ishida escaped by inducing Takumi Oshiro into an inning-ending double play.

Bobby Dalbec cut the deficit to 2-1 with a solo homer in the fourth, but that was the Giants’ only run. Ishida allowed five hits and two walks while striking out four across five innings.

BayStars bullpen shuts the door

DeNA restored its two-run cushion in the seventh. Sano opened the inning with a double, Tatsu Ebina moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt and catcher Yasutaka Tobashira delivered a two-out RBI single.

Maki then provided insurance in the eighth with a solo homer to left. The BayStars captain finished 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two runs scored, while Sano went 4-for-4 with an RBI.

Four DeNA relievers combined for four hitless innings. Shota Iwata, Taisei Ise and Daichi Hamachi carried the lead into the ninth before Jack Reynolds struck out Dalbec, Raito Nakayama and Masaya Richard in succession to finish the sweep.

Hanshin awaits in the Final Stage

The BayStars will face the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers in the Final Stage beginning Wednesday, October 14. Hanshin enters the six-game stage with the league champion’s automatic one-win advantage, leaving DeNA needing four victories to advance to the Japan Series.

For Yomiuri, the 4-1 defeat ends its 2026 season after two home losses in which the Giants scored only two total runs.