The Yokohama DeNA BayStars are heading back to the Japan Series after an 8-5 comeback win over the Hanshin Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

Shugo Maki was named the CLCS MVP after hitting two more home runs, bringing his postseason tally to four.

DeNA swept all four games against the Central League pennant winners on the road at Koshien, completing an unbeaten run through the playoffs and setting up a rematch with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Game 4 Recap: BayStars 8, Tigers 5

After three straight shutouts, the series finale became a back-and-forth contest, with the BayStars ultimately prevailing in dramatic fashion in the ninth.

Toshiro Miyazaki’s sacrifice fly put the BayStars ahead in the first, but Hanshin answered immediately with its first run of the series.

With injured superstars Teruaki Sato and Shota Morishita back in the starting lineup, Yusuke Ohyama’s RBI single tied the game and ended the Tigers’ 27-inning scoring drought.

In the fourth, rookie Shuto Naruse hit his first NPB home run at a key moment, restoring DeNA’s lead with a two-run shot. Morishita cut the deficit to 3-2 with a solo homer in the fifth.

BayStars ace Katsuki Azuma exited after five innings with his team still ahead, allowing two runs on nine hits. Tigers southpaw Kotaro Ohtake lasted just four innings, surrendering three runs on five hits.

Hanshin tied the game in the sixth when Miyazaki mishandled Koji Chikamoto’s grounder. It was one of Chikamoto's only contributions of the series as the leadoff man went 0 for 17 over the four games.

Morishita then homered in his second consecutive at-bat to open the seventh against Masumi Hamachi, giving Hanshin its first lead of the series and igniting the home crowd for the first time all week. Sato followed with a double, Ohyama singled, and Torai Fushimi’s sacrifice fly made it 5-3.

But DeNA responded again in the eighth, as Miyazaki’s RBI single off Rito Kinoshita brought the BayStars within one. With nobody out and two runners aboard, manager Kyuji Fujikawa called on flamethrower Taisei Kudo for a six-out save.

Kudo escaped the eighth and came within one strike of finishing the job in the ninth. But with two outs and runners on second and third, Masaki Mimori lined a two-run single into center to put DeNA back ahead, stunning Koshien once again.

Tomoya Inoue and Takuma Hayashi followed with RBI singles off Rafael Dolis to make it 8-5.

Sean Reynolds ran into trouble in the ninth, loading the bases with one out as the Tigers looked to stay alive. But he tightroped the jam as he's done all postseason, striking out Nozomu Takatera and Seiya Kinami to clinch Yokohama’s Japan Series berth.

The BayStars finished the Final Stage 4-1, including Hanshin’s automatic ghost win, channeling their 2024 magic when they won the Japan Series title after finishing third in the regular season.

"I'm truly sorry to our fans, that's all I can say," Fujikawa uttered after the game. "The players gave it their all."

Japan Series: BayStars vs. Hawks

DeNA will face SoftBank in a rematch of the 2024 Japan Series, when the BayStars overcame a 2-0 deficit with four straight wins to claim their first championship since 1998. They now have another chance at a Cinderella finish, while the Hawks return for their third straight appearance and seek a second consecutive title.

Despite being the underdogs, manager Ryoji Aikawa remained confident in his squad, saying, “I don’t think there’s much of a gap between our teams.”

The best-of-seven series begins Saturday, October 24, at Yokohama Stadium at 6:30 p.m. JST. With NPB alternating home-field advantage between the Pacific and Central Leagues each year, DeNA will host Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 6 and 7, despite finishing with a .507 regular season winning percentage compared to SoftBank’s .650. Games 3 through 5 will be played at Mizuho PayPay Dome.