Yutaro Sugimoto drove in the only run in the third inning, and Orix ended Yakult pitcher Masanori Ishikawa's chance of winning Game 4 in back-to-back years.
Tokyo Yakult, led by Triple Crown winner Munetaka Murakami, is favored to repeat as NPB champion but Orix is peaking at the right time.
Orix's Keita Nakagawa delivered the game-winning hit with two outs in the ninth, ending SoftBank's comeback hopes and keeping his team's title ambitions alive.
Yakult outscored Hanshin 18-7 in three Central League Climax Series Final Stage games, completing a series sweep in dramatic fashion.
With the win, the American will reach the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time and bolster his chances of qualifying for the...
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder went 13 games without a homer before completing the season in style with a solo blast in the seventh inning.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Curry of the preseason spectacular. Hachimura’s wish: “Hopefully we can come back here anytime soon and play an NBA game.”
Golden State enjoyed a winning start to its preseason schedule, and Washington forward Rui Hachimura electrified the crowd with high-energy play.
The 15-day tournament offered sumo fans plenty of memorable moments. Veteran sports reporter Armstrong joins the podcast for a wrapup of the event.