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Yanagita leads Japan over MLB All-Stars 8-4

Japan's second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, second from right, celebrates with teammates after defeating Major League All-Stars 8-4 in their exhibition baseball series at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Japan's second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, second from right, celebrates with teammates after defeating Major League All-Stars 8-4 in their exhibition baseball series at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) Japan's second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, second from right, celebrates with teammates after defeating Major League All-Stars 8-4 in their exhibition baseball series at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

By Associated Press 2 min read

TOKYO (AP) – Yuki Yanagita drove in four runs from the leadoff spot, Hisashi Iwakuma was hit hard and Japan beat the Major League Baseball All-Stars 8-4 Friday to take a 2-0 lead in their five-game series.

Yanagita hit a two-run triple off Iwakuma in the second for a 3-0 lead, singled in the go-ahead run in the fourth, walked against Rob Wooten in the sixth and had an RBI double off Tsuyoshi Wada in the eighth.

“Yanagita has a lot of bat speed,” MLB manager John Farrell said. “He’s aggressive, and whether it is against a left-handed pitcher or a right-handed pitcher, he has swung the bat very well.”

Hikaru Itoh hit an RBI single in the three-run second. NL batting champion Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer off Chihiro Kaneko in the bottom half, and the major leaguers tied it in the third when Ben Zobrist tripled and scored on Jose Altuve’s grounder.

Nobuhiro Matsuda led off the eighth with a homer off Wada, a former teammate, that made it 7-3. Zobrist doubled in the bottom half and scored on Robinson Cano’s single.