The veteran infielder was hitless in NPB's championship series heading into Tuesday's game, but came up big to give the Swallows a huge boost.
Yakult's Souma Uchiyama slugged a game-tying, three-run homer in the ninth inning, but neither team scored again and the game ended after 12 innings.
In a rematch of last year’s NPB championship series, the Swallows got clutch hitting and a solid start from Yasuhiro Ogawa.
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.
The red-hot BayStars languished in the bottom half of the standings for most of the season before making a big turnaround.
The 22-year-old would have joined four others on the NPB no-no list this season.
The 42-year-old lefty continues to impress for the high-flying Swallows.
The reigning Sawamura Award winner became the fourth NPB pitcher to accomplish the special feat this season.
Insights on Roki Sasaki’s rising fame, other young stars to keep an eye on, Yoshihisa Hirano’s brilliant career as a closer, and much more.
The 20-year-old phenom struggled with his control en route to his first loss of the season.
The Hanshin Tigers pitcher excelled on the mound and at the plate in a recent big win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
