Hanshin reliever Atsuki Yuasa got in and out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Tigers eliminated the DeNA BayStars with a 3-2 come-from-behind win in Game 3 of the Central League Climax Series' first stage Monday.
The Tigers, who finished the regular season in third place, will face batting Triple Crown winner Munetaka Murakami's Yakult Swallows in the final stage beginning Wednesday at Jingu Stadium.
The BayStars loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Yuasa got pinch-hitter Kazuya Fujita to ground into a 4-2-3 double play.
Yuasa and three other Hanshin relievers held DeNA scoreless after starter Hiroto Saiki lasted only 2-1/3 innings at the BayStars' Yokohama Stadium.
The BayStars, a distant second in the regular season, took a 2-0 lead on Toshiro Miyazaki's solo home run in the second and a wild pitch from Saiki in the third.
But the Tigers immediately got one back when Teruaki Sato homered to center in the fourth.
In the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Fumiya Hojo and Koji Chikamoto tied the game at 2, and then Fumihito Haraguchi singled to left to score Chikamoto and give Hanshin the lead for good.
