Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer and John Lackey pitched five strong innings Friday as the Major League Baseball all-stars defeated the stars of Japan 3-2 in the first game of a five-game series.
Dye, who hit 44 homers for the Chicago White Sox this season, connected off Japan starter Tetsuya Utsumi in the bottom of the third at Tokyo Dome after Rafael Furcal reached base on a single.
``I got a hold of that one,'' said Dye. ``Their pitcher left a slider up in the strike zone and I got the bat on the ball.''
Lackey gave up one run on two hits while striking out four. Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins retired the side in the ninth for the save.
``I felt really good out there,'' said Lackey, who went 13-11 for the Los Angeles Angels. ``I was able throw a lot of strikes and that helped me with the game.''
The five-game all-star series against the stars of Japanese baseball continues Saturday with Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo expected to start.
The all-stars got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning when Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies scored from third on a fielder's choice.
The Japanese team scored a run in the top of the fourth on a Michihiro Ogasawara single to left that scored Yosuke Takasu. Japan pulled to within one run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Yuuki Yoshimura.
All-stars manager Bruce Bochy said he was happy his team opened the series with a win.
``It was a great ball game,'' said Bochy. ``It was close. Their guy did a great job of cutting down the damage and we got a big home run from Jermaine.''
Utsumi of the Yomiuri Giants took the loss after giving up three runs on nine hits over six innings.
Katsuya Nomura, who managed the Japan team, said the gap between Japan and the major leagues is closing.
``I've been in this game for 50 years,'' said Nomura. ``I've taken part in this series several times and it used to be there was a huge gap in the level of play, but it's closing and we had a very good chance of winning this ball game tonight.''
© The Canadian Press, 2007
