Tsuyoshi Wada threw five masterful innings, and Shuhei Fukuda homered twice as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched their eighth interleague championship with a 5-1 win over the Yomiuri Giants on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Wada (1-1), who missed all of the 2018 season due to injury, made just his third start of the year. The southpaw kept hitters off balance with good location on his fastball and a nasty changeup they couldn't hit. Wada struck out six, while allowing a run on three hits and two walks.
Fukuda, who hit a tie-breaking grand slam in Friday's series opener at Tokyo Dome, homered to open the game off Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano (7-4). The Hawks made it 4-0 in the inning on two walks, two infield singles an error and a squeeze.