MLB All-Stars blanked in Japan opener

Osaka, Japan (SportsNetwork.com) – Kenta Maeda and three relievers combined on a three-hit shutout, leading Samurai Japan to a 2-0 win over the Major League Baseball All-Stars in the opener of the 2014 Japan Series.

Maeda threw five innings of two-hit ball, walked two and struck out two. He yielded a first-inning single to Robinson Cano and a double by Dexter Fowler with two outs in the fifth.

Ben Zobrist grounded out to end the fifth inning and the MLB All-Stars managed just one more hit, a one-out single in the ninth by Evan Longoria. Justin Morneau then lined to first and Tetsuto Yamada turned it into a game-ending unassisted double play.

Matt Shoemaker, runner-up for the American League Rookie of the Year, took the loss for the MLB All-Stars. The Angels hurler yielded two runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts over five innings.

The Japanese stars reached Shoemaker for a run in the second when Seiichi Uchikawa led off with a single, took second on a double by Hayato Sakamoto and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nobuhiro Matsuda. Sakamoto singled with one out in the fourth and was erased on a fielder’s choice by Matsuda, who then stole second and scored on a single by Yamada to make it 2-0.

Tommy Hunter worked around a pair of two-out singles in the sixth and Hector Santiago pitched a scoreless seventh despite a pair of walks. Mark Melancon allowed a leadoff single in the eighth, but got a force out and a double play to give the MLB All-Stars a chance in the ninth.

The teams will take Thursday off to travel to Tokyo for three games this weekend. The five-game series will then conclude on Tuesday in Sapporo.

Categorized in: MLB