Japan overpowered the Major League Baseball All-Stars 4-1 in Thursday’s final exhibition series game in Nagoya to win the six-game tournament 5-1 to the shock of many American baseball fans.
Sosuke Genda hit a three-run triple to spearhead the home team to their fifth win against the MLB All-Stars in this year’s exhibition in Japan. Rookie of the Year award recipient Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a homer in the eighth inning but it was not enough to save the away team the embarrassing defeat at the Nagoya Dome.
“They play the game the right way,” MLB manager Don Mattingly said about Japan. “They have a lot of hitters who can put the ball in play and give you a lot of looks, and their pitchers have always been one of their strengths.”
MBL stars Mitch Haniger, Eugenio Suarez and Kevin Pillar manned the bases. They were unable to stop the Japanese side who looked sharp throughout the game.
For Japan, the tournament served as preparation for the 2020 Olympics where Tokyo will act as the host city.
“We used a lot of young players in the series, and it was a valuable experience for them,” Japan manager Atsunori Inaba said. “I hope they used this experience to continue making progress.”
