After Samurai Japan beat an MLB team 3-2 in the Japan-MLB All-Star Series, Thursday's exhibition in Okinawa gives the big leaguers a chance to ostensibly go home with a .500 record against the host nation.
Japan clinched the series by winning the first three games, including a combined no-hitter by four pitchers in Game 3. Yet the major leaguers bounced back to win Games 4 and 5.
"Japan pitchers did well, leading us to victories in the first three games, but as the Series went along, the major league hitters' condition has improved and the speed of their swings has gotten better," Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo said Wednesday at a press conference in Naha.