The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks exploited their opponents' defensive lapses to come from behind and beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 4-3 in Game 1 of the Pacific League Climax Series on Saturday.
In a season abbreviated due to the coronavirus, the PL trimmed its playoffs to a single best-of-five format. With the league champion Hawks receiving a one-win advantage and prevailing in the event of a tied series. A win or a tie in Sunday's Game 2 will send SoftBank to its fourth straight Japan Series.
Before 19,901 at PayPay Dome, the Hawks tied the game in the sixth inning through some daring base running and an error.