Published by
Kyodo News
Kyodo News
The Central League champion Yakult Swallows clinched their sixth Japan Series championship as Shingo Kawabata’s 12th-inning RBI pinch-hit single earned them a 2-1 Game 6 victory over the Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes on Saturday. The Japan championship was Yakult’s first since 2001 and the first by a CL club since 2012. With the game tied 1-1 since the fifth inning, the Swallows broke through in the 12th against Orix’s sixth pitcher, Ryo Yoshida. A two-out Yasutaka Shiomi single and a wild pitch put the runner in scoring position for Kawabata, whose little flare found space to fall in…