Japan All-Star Series: Despite Longo’s homerun, MLB squad loses exhibition

Once again the Japanese pitching was magical and kept the MLB All-Stars in check rather well.
Shota Takeda pitched three innings in which he allowed only one unearned run on four hits. He walked four and fanned three.

The only run that Takeda (Softbank Hawks) allowed came when Alcides Escobar reached first base in the first inning on a throwing error committed by Tekeda himself. Escobar advanced to third on a single hit by Jose Altuve. Eventually he scored on a sac fly by Justin Morneau.

The second run for the MLB players came in the fifth inning with Takahiro Matsuba on the mound. The reliever of the Orix Buffaloes gave up a lead off homerun to Evan Longoria. Matsuba gave up two hits, walked four and struck out three.

The MLB squad scored their third run in the eighth when Jose Altuve reached first on a fielding error by shortstop Kenta Imamiya. Altuve used his speed to advance to second on this error and eventually scored on a single by Justin Morneau.

In the ninth they added one more run to their total when Dexter Fowler scored from third on a sac fly by Alcides Escobar.

The Samurai Japan scored a run in the second, in the fourth and in the fifth before they had a big inning in the eighth. Desite getting two outs Jose Veras was pulled before he could finish the inning. A double and two bunts had put players on third and second base. A single by Yuki Yanagita drove in Ginji Akaminai and Kenta Imamiya. A triple by Ryosuke Kikuchi drove in Yanagita all the way from first.

Despite the one run that the MLB squad scored in the ninth, they didn’t get any closer.  Jose Altuve grounded out 1-3 for the final out of the trip.

Shota Takeda earned the win and Hector Santiago was labelled with the loss. Santiago pitched four innings in which he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. He gave up two walks and struck out two.

Best hitter for the MLB team today was Lucas Duda, who went 3 for 3. The hitter with the most impact was Justin Morneau (again). He collected one hit in three at bats and drove in two runs (one with a sac fly).

For Samurai Japan, Ryosuke Kikuchi was the best hitter with three hits out of five at bats and one RBI. The most impact had Yuki Yanagita. He got one hit out of five at bats but drove in two runs.

I think that this MLB team lacked some real star players. But that doesn’t take away the fact that the Samurai Japan team played some excellent baseball with timely hitting and of course some great defense. And their pitches threw a lot of unhittable crap. Regarding the defense, look at this great backhand flip by Japanese second baseman Kikuchi.