TOKYO, 9 November 2004 — The Japanese won the pre-game home run derby. Then the game started and the major league All-Stars put their bats to work.
Back-to-back home runs by Moises Alou and Vernon Wells in the fourth inning and by Johnny Estrada and Brad Wilkerson in the ninth powered the major leaguers past the Japanese stars 7-3 on Sunday for a 3-0 lead in the eight-game series.
Wells went 3-for-4 and had a two-run double to put his team up 5-3 in the eighth. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder was the MVP of Game 3.
The game marked the return to Japan of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii, who last pitched in the country in the 2001 Japan Series for the Yakult Swallows. Ishii started and went five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out two.
“It felt strange pitching against (Atsuya) Furuta,” said Ishii, referring to his former batterymate with the Swallows. “I couldn’t even look him straight in the face.”
St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ray King worked two-thirds of an inning for the win.
Alou of the Chicago Cubs and Wells homered off starter Kei Igawa in the top of the fourth to stake the major leaguers to a 3-0 lead.
Alou’s was a two-run shot after World Series MVP Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox singled earlier in the inning.
“I was happy that Moises did the damage before me so that I didn’t have to do too much,” Wells said. “It felt great.”
Japan got one run back on Kazuhiro Wada’s RBI single.
The Japanese then tied the game with two runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Kazuya Fukuura and an RBI single by Akinori Iwamura.
Before the game, organizers staged a home run derby, and Hitoshi Tamura and Akinori Iwamura out-slugged Hank Blalock and Ramirez 6-4.
The teams next play in Fukuoka today before traveling to Osaka, Sapporo and Nagoya. The series ends Nov. 14 in Tokyo.
Major league All-Stars previously toured Japan in 2002, finishing with a 5-3 record.
The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays opened the 2004 season by splitting a pair of games at the Tokyo Dome. Since 1908, there have been 34 tours of Japan by major league All-Star teams, Negro league teams and individual major league clubs.
