Photo: Getty Images/Samurai Japan.
TOKYO — Major League Baseball (MLB) defeated Japan’s National Baseball Team, 7-3, Sunday night before 45,147 at the Tokyo Dome. MLB’s win cuts Japan’s lead to 2-1 in the six-game series.
St. Louis Cardinals star Yadier Molina went 3-for-5, including a three-run home run, and Miami Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto belted his second home run of the series.
MLB starting pitcher Scott Barlow (Kansas City Royals) cooled the hot Japanese bats, allowing only one run and tallying four strikeouts over 4.1 innings to earn the win.
Nine-time Gold Glove winner Molina also shined behind the plate Sunday, picking off Seiji Uebayashi (Fukuoka Hawks) at first base in the fourth inning, killing a potential Japan rally.
Samurai Japan starting pitcher Shinsaburo Tawata (Seibu Lions – Nippon Professional Baseball) took the loss.
The Japan All-Star Series will move to Hiroshima for Game 4 on Tuesday, 13 November, where Japan’s Daichi Ohsera (Hiroshima Toyo Carp) and MLB’s Kenta Maeda (Los Angeles Dodgers) have been announced as the starting pitchers.
