TOKYO, Japan — With a 9-4 victory on Monday night, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched their first Pacific League pennant since 2020 and their 20th title in franchise history. The win fittingly came on the road against the Orix Buffaloes, the three-time defending PL champions who had previously dethroned them.
Orix led 2-1 going into the 4th, but Yuto Kawamura – who was playing in place of injured superstar Kensuke Kondoh – tied it with an RBI single, and speedster Ukyo Shuto put SoftBank in front with a two-run triple. They added three more runs in the 5th before Orix replied with two runs in the 6th to make it 7-4. But the Hawks put the game away with two more runs in the 8th, and Darwinzon Hernandez struck out the side in the 9th to seal the deal as they improved to 85-47-3 on the year.
From 2014 to 2020, the Hawks won six of seven Japan Series titles under Kimiyasu Kudo’s management, establishing themselves as one of the most dominant dynasties in NPB history. The team took a step back in 2021, resulting in Kudo’s resignation at the end of the season. Hiroshi Fujimoto took over the helm thereafter but failed to get SoftBank back to the top. However, things changed for the better in 2024, with franchise legend and former Japanese national team manager Hiroki Kokubo taking over. The Hawks have run laps around its competition with a +208 run differential and an 11-game lead over the second-place Nippon-Ham Fighters.
The biggest-budget team in NPB got plenty of production from its major free agent signings over the past two seasons — Kensuke Kondoh and Hotaka Yamakawa — but it was the contributions of the surrounding cast that pushed them over the top. When Yuki Yanagita got injured in May, youngsters Tomoya Masaki and Tatsuru Yanagimachi stepped up to become key role players with a 122 and 121 wRC+, respectively. Yanagita is currently rehabbing and is expected to return in the coming weeks. Kondoh is out for the remainder of the regular season but will possibly return in time for the postseason.