BayStars wins first Japanese series title in 26 years

YOKOHAMA — The Yokohama DeNA BayStars ended a quarter-century wait to capture a third Japan Series title, and did so by taking the most circuitous route.

Veteran Yoshitomo Tsutsugo homered and drove in four runs as the BayStars defeated the Pacific League champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 11-2 in Game 6 at Yokohama Stadium on Sunday night to win the best-of-seven series 4-2.

BayStars leadoff hitter Masayuki Kuwahara was named MVP in the series, in which the decisive victory was the only game in which the home team came out on top. The Hawks won the first two games of the series in Yokohama before the BayStars won the next three in Fukuoka.

“The [Hawks] We were a team where we had to put everything we had into every game,” said BayStars manager Daisuke Miura. “We became further united [the road games in] Fukuoka and gained momentum, and each of us delivered our best performance in Yokohama.

In addition to their previous titles in 1960 and 1998, the BayStars became only the second team after the 2010 Chiba Lotte Marines to win a Japan Series, after finishing third in their league since the beginning of the Climax Series playoffs in 2007 . team must play all matches of the Climax Series on the road.

The BayStars started by eliminating the second-place Hanshin Tigers and then defeated the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants to advance to the Japan Series.

The BayStars’ victory marks the fifth time overall and the first time in five years that a non-league champion has won the Japan Series, and gives the Central League a 38-37 lead against the rival league.

On Sunday, the BayStars hit double figures for the third straight game and nearly put the game away with a seven-run fifth inning.

The BayStars struck first in the second inning, as Tsutsugo hit a solo home run and Kuwahara added a two-run single for a 3-0 lead, then added another run in the fourth.

The Hawks closed the gap to two runs in the top of the fourth with Yuki Yanagita’s two-run homer, but saw Yokohama explode for seven in the fifth, led by Tsutsugo’s three-run double as they batted around the order.

Four relievers held the Hawks to one hit over the final five innings. In the four losses, the Hawks only scored a total of three points.

Kuwahara earned MVP honors by scoring at least one point in five straight games, but it was Tsutsugo who inspired the BayStars to their improbable victory. Tsutsugo had returned to the team after five less-than-productive years across the Pacific in the major leagues, where he also spent time in the minors and an independent league.

“I was happy that my home run gave the team momentum,” Tsutsugo said of his solo shot over Hawks starter Kohei Arihara, who had defeated the BayStars in the series opener.