FUKUOKA (Kyodo) -- The DeNA BayStars returned lefty Anthony Kay to his roots as a starting pitcher this season, and he rewarded them Wednesday by holding Japan's most powerful offense in check and evening the Japan Series at 2-2.

The 29-year-old southpaw, primarily a reliever in MLB and the United States minors since 2022, had an up-and-down first season in Japan, going 6-9 with a 3.42 ERA for the third-place BayStars, although he did strike out 119 batters in 136-2/3 innings.

"The last couple of years I was either hurt or relieving," Kay said. "I think I went into it a little blind this year, but being with Andre (DeNA starter Andre Jackson) the whole year, he helped me a little bit, figuring out the routine in between starts."

In the postseason, however, Kay has now delivered for DeNA in two of his three starts. He won the BayStars' final-stage playoff opener against the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. He started the clinching victory but did not make it out of the fourth inning.

"I hit a little bit of a wall in September, but the postseason gets that adrenaline flowing, so I have been getting locked in," he said.

Against the SoftBank Hawks, he looked like a textbook starting pitcher, making a statement early with good command and life on his fastball, and then bedeviling batters with his secondary stuff.

"Kay was terrific," BayStars manager Daisuke Miura, a former pitcher himself, said. "His fastball had good movement, and his command of his breaking pitches was also good."