Fukuoka SoftBank's Dennis Sarfate earned his 46th save of the season, matching the NPB record as the Hawks defeated the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3-1 on Saturday to secure a spot in the Pacific League Climax Series.
Sarfate stepped on the mound in the ninth. He allowed a soft single to Hiroaki Shimauchi but retired the next three batters in order to seal the win for the PL-leading Hawks at Yafuoku Dome.
The 36-year-old American right-hander matched the record shared by the Chunichi Dragons' Hiroki Iwase (2005) and the Hanshin Tigers' Kyuji Fujikawa (2007).