Learn more

Hiromi Ito scattered nine hits over the distance and home runs from Franmil Reyes and Kotaro Kiyomiya booked the Nippon Ham Fighters’ first playoff berth in six seasons with a 2-1 win over the Rakuten Eagles on Thursday. At Es Con Field Hokkaido outside Sapporo, Ito (14-4) allowed a first-inning run and left the bases loaded in the second but faced little trouble after that. Reyes’ 24th home run tied it in the fourth, and Kiyomiya put the hosts ahead in the sixth with his 13th. The Fighters finished fifth in the last three seasons under former manager Hideki Kuriyama and last in the first two …

cuu