This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Keita Nakagawa stroked a run-scoring, walk-off single to left field, leading the Orix Buffaloes to a 3-2 win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Saturday night, October 15.
With the win in Game 4, Orix eliminated the Hawks from the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
This year's Japan Series, starting on October 22, will be a rematch of last year's championship series, when the Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the best-of-seven series 4-2. Game 1 will be held at Jingu Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 PM.
The Swallows eliminated the Hanshin Tigers in the Central League Climax Series Final Stage on Friday night, winning 6-3 in Game 3 and earning a series sweep. (The regular-season champions in the Central and Pacific Leagues receive an automatic one-win advantage to start their respective series.
Read the full story on SportsLook.
Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed on JAPAN Forward's [Japan Sports Notebook] here on Sundays, in [Odds and Evens] here during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven, and find him on JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website, SportsLook.
