The Yomiuri Giants clinched the 38th Central League title, and 47th league championship, in franchise history after a 3-3 tie against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Friday.
Once the game between the second-place Hanshin Tigers and DeNA BayStars finished 3-3 minutes earlier, the Giants only needed to secure a tie against the Swallows. They began celebrating when Yakult failed to score in top of the 10th and final inning, and the party really got going when the game ended and the Giants were able to parade around Tokyo Dome.
"This game was very tough and symbolic of this season, very tight and we just barely made it, in many ways just like this season has been," manager Tatsunori Hara said of a year that was hit by the coronavirus pandemic, didn't open until June 19 and did not have fans in the stands until the middle of July.