Ryoya Kurihara’s Walk-Off Grand Slam Puts Hawks on Brink of Japan Series
Ryoya Kurihara hit a ninth-inning walk-off grand slam as the SoftBank Hawks beat the Fighters 6-2 and moved one win from the Japan Series.
World Baseball News Editorial Team , 2 min read 
Ryoya Kurihara hit a walk-off grand slam with one out in the ninth inning Thursday, lifting the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a 6-2 win over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Game 2 of the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage at Mizuho PayPay Dome.
The dramatic swing turned a tense 2-2 game into SoftBank’s second comeback victory in as many nights. With their two-win league-champion advantage included, the Hawks now lead the stage 4-0 and need one more victory to reach the Japan Series for a third consecutive season.
Kurihara ends a long stalemate
The score had been tied since the third inning when SoftBank loaded the bases against Ren Fukushima in the bottom of the ninth. Kurihara, batting cleanup, drove the decisive pitch into the right-center-field seats for the first walk-off grand slam of this year’s NPB postseason.
The home run was also a playoff first of a different kind: according to Japanese statistical reporting, no cleanup hitter had previously produced a walk-off homer in the history of the Pacific League playoffs or either league’s Climax Series.
SoftBank had spent most of the night recovering from a difficult opening inning. Kotaro Kiyomiya singled home the first run for Nippon-Ham, and a second scored when Chusei Mannami grounded into a double play with the bases loaded.
The Hawks answered in the third. Yudai Shoji opened the inning with a triple, Tomoya Masaki drove him in with a double off the left-field wall, and Kensuke Kondo followed with a game-tying single to right.
Pitching keeps the Hawks close
SoftBank starter Naoyuki Uwasawa settled down after the first inning and completed six innings, allowing two runs on four hits. The Hawks’ bullpen then kept Nippon-Ham scoreless through the final three frames, creating the opening for Kurihara’s late strike.
Fighters starter Koki Kitayama gave his club a strong chance, working 6⅔ innings and allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven. Nippon-Ham escaped a bases-loaded threat in the seventh when Kondo grounded out, but the Hawks created one more chance in the ninth and did not miss it.
The Fighters now face elimination in Game 3 on Friday. SoftBank can clinch the Pacific League pennant and a place in the Japan Series with one more win.
