The Orix Buffaloes are the new National Professional Baseball (NPB) champions, after a dramatic 5-4 win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Game 7 of the Japan Series 2022. The victory set up the Buffaloes' first NPB title in 26 years, after their triumph in 1996.
Down 2-0 with one tie (3-3 in Game 2) after three games, the Buffaloes won four straight games to win the seven-game series 4-2 (plus one tie).
Lefty Hiroya Miyagi was the starter for the Buffaloes in Sunday's final game and allowed three hits and a walk over five innings while striking out five.
Ryo Ota connected with the first pitch of the game over the center field fence for a leadoff home run off Cy Sneed to give the Orix the early lead in the score. The Buffaloes extended their lead with a four-run fifth inning, capped off by a two-out defensive error that cost the Swallows three runs.
Playing as the home team at Jingu Stadium, the Tokyo Swallows mounted a four-run rally in the eighth inning, including an RBI single by Olympic gold medallist Munetaka Murakami (who won the triple crown this year) and a three-run homer by Jose Osuna, his second bomb of the series.
However, the comeback felt short, as Jacob Waguespack, who earned the win in the Buffaloes' 6-4 Game-5-win, earned his third save of the series with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Sneed was the losing pitcher, giving up five runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings.
Orix slugger Yutaro Sugimoto was named MVP of the Japan Series, collecting six hits and three RBI.
The Japan Series was a rematch of last year’s final, when the Swallows took the title in six games. The last time the Buffaloes won the title in 1996, legend Ichiro Suzuki led the team to victory.
