The Tokyo Yakult Swallows beat the Orix Buffaloes 2-1 in game six and claimed their first Japan Series title since 2001. It was the fifth game to finish with a one-run difference, while the other game decided by two runs.
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Commissioner Atsushi Saito congratulated the Swallows and emphasized how many people deserve credit for completing the Japan Series, including team personnel, medical personnel and the fans.
Game six was a five-hour and 12-inning drama. The Swallows scored the winning run on a two-out pinch-hit single by Shingo Kawabata against Ryo Yoshida, Orix's sixth pitcher.
Japan Series games cannot go beyond 12 innings; thus, the at-bat represented the last chance the Swallows had to avoid game seven.
"All season long, Kawabata got the job done for us," manager Shingo Takatsu told the Kyodo news agency. "It wasn't much of a hit, but it was tremendous batting on his part."
Kawabata appeared in three games for Japan at the WBSC Premier12 2015, going 2-for-7.
Yakult closer Scott McGough took the mound with two outs in the tenth and earned a seven-out save.
McGough, who helped the United States win a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, earned 31 saves during the regular season and had some ups and downs during the Japan Series. He blew a save in game one and allowed a ninth-inning home run to former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Adam Jones that gave the Buffaloes the win in game five. McGough also earned back-to-back saves in games three and four.
The Swallows title, the first by a Central League team since 2012, has other heroes. Dominican slugger Domingo Santana provided the go-ahead run in game three with a seventh-inning home run. Venezuelan first-baseman José Osuna broke the tie in game four. 41-year-old left-hander Masanori Ishikawa earned his first Japan Series win in game four. Ishikawa suffered two losses pitching for the Swallows in the 2015 Japan Series.
The Swallows catcher Yuhei Nakamura, who was on Japan's roster at the inaugural WBSC Premier12, was named the series MVP.
The venues' capacity was limited to 50% due to COVID-19 measures. A total of 117,373 fans attended the six games.
Japan Series 2021-the results
Orix Buffaloes-Yakult Swallows 4-3
Yakult Swallows-Orix Buffaloes 2-0
Yakult-Swallows-Orix Buffaloes 5-4
Yakult Swallows-Orix Buffaloes 2-1
Orix Buffaloes-Yakult Swallows 6-5
Yakult Swallows-Orix Buffaloes 2-1
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- NPB 2021 season preview
