SoftBank Hawks Clinch Third Straight Pacific League Pennant With 7-1 Win

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched the 2026 Pacific League pennant on Thursday, September 17, beating the Orix Buffaloes 7-1 at Kyocera Dome Osaka to complete the franchise’s first three-peat in 60 years.

SoftBank entered the night with a magic number of two. The Hawks handled their half of the equation with a ninth consecutive victory, while the Saitama Seibu Lions lost 4-2 to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, officially putting the pennant out of reach.

The title is SoftBank’s third straight and the organization’s first run of three consecutive league championships since the Nankai Hawks won three in a row from 1964 through 1966. It is also the first three-peat since the franchise moved to Fukuoka in 1989.

Four-run sixth inning turns the clincher

Orix struck first on a second-inning home run by Kotaro Kurebayashi, but SoftBank starter Haru Matsumoto prevented the Buffaloes from building on the lead. Matsumoto worked five innings, allowing one run on six hits, and earned his career-high 11th victory of the season.

The game changed in the sixth. Tatsuru Yanagimachi drove a game-tying RBI single off the center-field wall before Taisei Makihara delivered the decisive swing, a two-run triple that put the Hawks ahead 3-1. SoftBank scored four runs in the inning and added three more in the ninth to turn the clincher into a 7-1 victory.

The win moved the Hawks to 84-45-3 through 132 games, with 11 games remaining. They have gone 11-2-1 in September and carry a season-best nine-game winning streak into the final stretch.

A 60-year franchise milestone

This is the 24th league pennant in franchise history when the two titles from Japan’s one-league era are included. More significantly for the current era, it is the first time the Hawks have won three consecutive Pacific League pennants since 1966.

Manager Hiroki Kokubo has now won the league in each of his first three seasons in charge. After the final out, players lifted Kokubo seven times during the traditional on-field doage celebration at Kyocera Dome.

The championship also positions SoftBank for another deep October run. The Hawks will enter the Pacific League Climax Series at the Final Stage, beginning October 14, and will pursue a second consecutive Japan Series championship.

There is still something meaningful at stake before then. Under the new 2026 Climax Series format, a first-place team finishing at least 10 games ahead of its Final Stage opponent can begin the series with a two-win advantage rather than the traditional one-win edge. SoftBank’s sizeable lead means the final 11 games could directly affect its postseason starting position.