MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) Atsunori Inaba drove in four runs to put Japan on the way to a 10-0 win over the Yomiuri Giants on Saturday in its first warm-up for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Inaba, batting cleanup in the lineup, ignited Japan's win with a three-run home run in the first inning and also had an RBI double in the fourth in the practice match in front of 45,000 fans at Miyazaki's Sun Marine Stadium.
Norichika Aoki and Hiroyuki Nakajima, the first and second in the batting order, combined to score four runs while Rakuten Eagles right-hander Masahiro Tanaka pitched 2-1/3 hitless innings.
Defending WBC champion Japan plays Yomiuri again on Sunday when manager Tatsunori Hara is set to name his final 28-man roster.