Franmil Reyes of the Nippon Ham Fighters hits a two-run home run against the SoftBank Hawks in Game 4 of the Pacific League Climax Series final stage at Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka on Oct. 18, 2025. (Kyodo)
FUKUOKA (Kyodo) — Franmil Reyes launched a pair of long bombs and five other players drove in runs to keep the Nippon Ham Fighters alive in the Pacific League Climax Series final stage with a 9-3 win against the SoftBank Hawks on Saturday.
With back-to-back wins, skipper Tsuyoshi Shinjo’s youthful Fighters have cut their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series for which the Hawks earned hosting rights and an automatic one-game lead as Pacific League pennant winners.
SoftBank was first on the board in Game 4 at Fukuoka’s Mizuho PayPay Dome thanks to Akira Nakamura’s RBI triple with two out in the bottom of the first inning.
The PL runner-up Fighters turned the game around in the third, with Shu Yamagata hitting a game-tying triple before Reyes put them ahead 3-1 with his third home run of the postseason, a two-run shot deep over center field off SoftBank starter Tomohisa Ozeki (0-1).
Nippon Ham totaled six runs across the third and fourth innings, with Shun Mizutani contributing a solo home run in the fourth.
Reyes rounded out the scoring in the seventh with his two-run big fly to the stands beyond left field off right-hander Taiga Kamichatani.
The Fighters, who staved off a sweep by winning Friday’s Game 3 6-0, will aim to level the series with a third straight victory on Sunday.
The winner of the series will advance to the Japan Series for a showdown with the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers from Oct. 25.
AloJapan.com