The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks were crowned champions of the 2026 Japan Series this Wednesday by defeating the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 4-2 in the fourth game, held before 36,840 spectators at the Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka, completing a perfect sweep (4-0).
The Cuban Liván Moinelo, left-handed pitcher from Pinar del Río who is part of the Hawks roster, has now earned his second consecutive title in the Japan Series, after the team also won the championship in 2025.
The game began with DeNA in the lead: in the first inning, Keita Sano hit a two-run homer against starter Yugo Maeda, putting the score at 2-0 in favor of the visitors.
SoftBank responded in the fourth inning with a comeback, scoring three runs. Yudai Yamamoto, batting fifth, hit a two-RBI triple that tied the game, and Yuki Yanagita added a run-scoring single to put the Hawks ahead 3-2.
In the sixth inning, Yamamoto himself increased the lead with a sacrifice fly that scored the fourth run, a figure that proved to be decisive.
The SoftBank bullpen was flawless in the final stretch: R. Osuna retired all three batters he faced in the seventh, Matsumoto Yuki did the same in the eighth, and closer Kazuki Sugiyama sealed the championship in the ninth with his third save of the series.
The Most Valuable Player of the series was Tomoya Masaki, who batted .438 in the four games, with seven hits, two home runs, and two RBIs, including the walk-off home run that decided the third game on Tuesday.
"It was a series of tough matches, but if I was able to contribute even a little, I am very happy," Masaki stated upon receiving the award, according to the official NPB website.
The manager Hiroki Kokubo, who has been leading the team for three seasons, celebrated achieving a personal goal: "Since I became a manager, I always aimed to be thrown into the air here, at the Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka. In my third year, I finally accomplished it," he stated according to the official NPB report on the fourth game. Kokubo also revealed that he has a new goal: a third consecutive championship.
This 13th title for the franchise is also the result of a historic postseason: SoftBank finished with a perfect record of seven wins and zero losses, combining the Climax Series and the Japan Series, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the NPB.
The role of Moinelo in this series was crucial in the second game, played on Sunday at Yokohama Stadium, where the left-handed pitcher from Pinar del Río started and pitched seven innings without allowing any runs, giving up five hits, striking out eight batters, and throwing 91 pitches. Although he left the mound without an official decision —the bullpen surrendered a lead before SoftBank won 4-3 in 10 innings— his performance was the best of his entire 2026 postseason.
Moinelo did not take the mound in the championship game and is not credited with a personal victory in the series, but his name appears on the official roster of the Hawks for the Japan Series 2026 wearing number 35.
SoftBank's rematch against DeNA has a special flavor: in 2024, the BayStars had defeated the Hawks in six games to snatch the championship away from them. This time, the team from Fukuoka left no room for doubt and closed the series without conceding a single victory to their rivals.
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