Ryoya Kurihara had to wait until his fourth trip to the Japan Series before getting his first hit.
He didn't have to wait nearly as long for the next two.
Kurihara hit a two-run home run and a two-run double in support of starter Kodai Senga and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks got their chase for a fourth straight Japan Series title off to a winning start with a 5-1 victory over the Yomiuri Giants in Game 1 in front of a crowd of 16,489 at Kyocera Dome on Saturday night.