The 2025 Japan Series heads to Koshien Stadium all square at one game apiece after the Hanshin Tigers and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks split the opening two contests at Mizuho PayPay Dome FUKUOKA over the weekend.
In Game 1, the Hawks struck early as Kensuke Kondoh lined an RBI single up the middle in his first at-bat of the postseason. They continued to pressure Tigers ace Shoki Murakami, who wasn’t quite as sharp as usual in the early going, but the 2023 Central League MVP limited the damage and kept Hanshin within a run.
Hawks starter Kohei Arihara cruised through the first five innings but ran into trouble in the sixth, when Koji Chikamoto led off with a single and quickly stole second. Takumu Nakano followed with a perfectly placed bunt down the third-base line that hugged the chalk for an infield hit.
Central League Climax Sseries Final Stage MVP Shota Morishita then tied the game with an RBI groundout, and NPB home run king Teruaki Sato came through next with a go-ahead single to right to make it 2-1.
Arihara wrapped up his outing with two runs allowed over six innings, striking out five over 90 pitches. Meanwhile, Murakami settled in as the game progressed, finishing seven innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts on 115 pitches.
Kondoh nearly tied the game with one out in the eighth, ripping a Masaki Oyokawa slider off the wall in left for a double that missed leaving the park by inches. Oyokawa struck out Ryoya Kurihara for the second out before Hanshin summoned fireman Daichi Ishii, who hadn’t allowed a run since April 4, to escape the jam. He issued a walk to pinch-hitter Hotaka Yamakawa but induced a flyout from Isami Nomura to end the inning.
Rookie manager Kyuji Fujikawa stuck with Ishii rather than turning to veteran closer Suguru Iwazaki. With two outs, Yuki Yanagita singled, and Ukyo Shuto reached on catcher’s interference to put the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on first.
However, Tatsuru Yanagimachi flew out to center to end the game, as Ishii extended his historic scoreless appearance streak to 54 games, including the postseason.
In Game 2, Sato put Hanshin on the board early with an RBI single off Naoyuki Uwasawa in the first inning, but the momentum quickly swung the other way. Jon Duplantier, making his first start since Aug. 9, showed signs of rust and surrendered three runs on a Kurihara RBI single followed by a two-run double from Yamakawa.
Things unraveled further for the Tigers in the second, as timely hits from Shuto, Yanagimachi, and Kondoh stretched the lead to 6-1 and chased Duplantier from the game. Later in the inning, Yamakawa crushed a three-run homer off Yuta Iwasada – his fifth RBI of the night – to make it 9-1 and quickly put the game out of reach. Duplantier was charged with seven runs. The Hawks later tacked on another in the fifth on a wild pitch and cruised to a 10-1 win.
Many had expected ace Livan Moinelo to start Game 2, but with the lefty having pitched on short rest in the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage, skipper Hiroki Kokubo handed the ball to Uwasawa instead. The right-hander settled in after a shaky first and delivered six strong frames of one-run ball with seven strikeouts on 100 pitches.
In the seventh, Ukyo Shuto set a new Japan Series record with a five-hit game, doubling to left off Atsuki Yuasa. He had three singles, a double, and a triple, raising his series average to .667.
“The series is tied at one, that’s all there is to say,” Fujikawa said after the game. “We got overpowered today.”
“We lost three straight here last year, so I’m glad we could get a win in front of our fans this time,” Kokubo reflected.
Game 3 is set for Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. local time. While the probables have yet to be officially announced, it is expected that Hiroto Saiki will start for Hanshin and Livan Moinelo will start for SoftBank. It would be a marquee matchup between this season’s Central and Pacific League ERA champions.
Photo: Hanshin Tigers pitcher Hiroto Saiki is expected to start Game 3 of the 2025 Japan Series for the Hanshin Tigers. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
