Morneau leads MLB All-Stars to 1st win in Japan

The MLB All-Stars took care of business after being no-hit in Game 3 against Samurai Japan. On Sunday, manager John Farrell shook up the lineup and it resulted in a 6-1 victory in the Tokyo Dome. The first win for the MLB in the five-game postseason series.

Justin Morneau, the National League batting champion, blasted a pitch from Japan starter Shintaro Fujinami over the wall in right to give his team a 4-1 lead in the third. It was the second homer of the series for Morneau, who also connected for a two-run homer in Game 2.

The MLB All-Stars sat at a batting average of .103 coming into this game, however, Sunday was a different story. The first four hitters in the MLB All-Stars’ lineup were Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, Colorado Rockies Morneau and Tampa Bay Rays Evan Longoria. The four combined to go 9-for-16 with four doubles and two homers. The other homer coming off of Longoria’s bat. It was an opposite field long ball.

Free agent Chris Capuano allowed four hits while striking out four in five innings. He only gave up one run to Samurai Japan. Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Rob Wooten, Washington Nationals lefty Jerry Blevins,Baltimore Orioles righty Tommy Hunter and Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mark Melancon combined to toss four scoreless innings in relief.

KEY PLAYERS:

The reigning National League batting champ went 2-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the MLB All-Stars to their first win of the Japan Series.

After doubling in the first for MLB’s first hit since Game 2, Puig added a spectacular diving catch and two more hits. The Dodgers outfielder finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Starting at second base with Robinson Cano done for the series with a broken toe, Altuve went 3-for-4 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot. He also stole his first base of the trip.

Capuano struck out two in a scoreless first inning, then surrendered his lone run on back-to-back doubles in the second. He gave up another double in the third and worked his way out of trouble with two groundouts, then recorded a perfect fourth inning. Capuano gave up a leadoff single in the fifth inning but got out of it unscathed with a popout to catcher Drew Butera and a double-play grounder.