Roberto Osuna already had a ring from 2025. But this one is different — because this time, he actually pitched for it.
On October 28, 2026, Osuna took the mound in Game 4 of the Japan Series, retired all three batters he faced in the seventh inning, struck out two, and watched his team close out a 4-2 win over the Yokohama DeNA BayStars — completing a 4-0 sweep and delivering the 13th championship in SoftBank Hawks franchise history.
What 2025 Couldn’t Give Him
Last year, when the Hawks won their first back-to-back title against the Hanshin Tigers, Osuna was on the roster but never set foot on the field during the championship series. A shoulder and elbow injury left him watching from the dugout at the worst possible moment.
2026 was a different story. He came out of the bullpen in Game 4, set down the side, and walked off with two strikeouts and zero drama. No runs. No hits. No questions.
The Numbers Behind the Moment
The outing fits neatly into what Osuna has built since arriving in Japan in 2022 with the Chiba Lotte Marines and joining Fukuoka in 2023. In his time with the Hawks, the Sinaloa native carries a 11-9 record, a 2.43 ERA, 68 saves, and 151 strikeouts — numbers that explain why a team that wins 65% of its regular-season games trusts him with the ball when the stakes are highest.
Two Sinaloans, One Championship Dugout
Osuna didn’t celebrate alone. Left-hander Alexander Armenta, 22, also from Sinaloa (Los Mochis), was part of the Hawks’ championship roster. Armenta was called up to the big club in May 2026, making him a champion in his first full NPB season — though he didn’t see action in Game 4.
Two guys from Sinaloa. Two rings.
A Historic First for Mexican Baseball
For Mexican baseball, the moment carries real historical weight. Osuna is now the third Mexican player to win an NPB championship, following Luis Alonso Mendoza (2016) and César Vargas (2022). But he’s the first to do it twice in a row — and the first to actually take the mound in the series that sealed the second title.
The Revenge Sweep Against DeNA
There’s an extra layer to this one: back in 2024, it was the Yokohama DeNA BayStars who knocked the Hawks out of the Japan Series in six games. SoftBank came back in 2026 with the same opponent standing in the way and left no room for doubt — four games, four wins, zero chances for a comeback.
The Hawks also cement their status as Japan’s most dominant franchise of the past decade: six Japan Series appearances in the last ten years. Manager Hiroki Kokubo now has three Pacific League titles and two consecutive Japan Series championships since taking over.
Series MVP Tomoya Masaki led the offense, batting .438 with two home runs and two RBI across the four games — the engine that kept the Hawks rolling while the bullpen, Osuna included, handled the rest.
Osuna left Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka with two championships. The first, in 2025, came quietly — the ring arrived while he sat in the stands. This one came with his glove on, two strikeouts in the seventh, and nothing left to prove.
