Team Japan scored 4 runs off of Jeremy Guthrie, and no hit the Major League Baseball all stars to take a 3-0 lead in the Japan Series. Takahiro Norimoto threw 5 perfect innings to lead Japan to a combined no hitter. The MLB lineup, which consisted of 6 all stars, only got 4 base runners, and no hits during the game. MLB has been outscored 21-12 through four games in Japan.

Norimoto had six strikeouts when Hiroki Kukobu, the Japanese manager, decided to remove him because he was near the 80 pitch limit. The first base runner for the MLB all stars came in the 6th, when Lucas Duda drew a walk from Yuki Nishi, but they were unable to get anything form that. The best scoring chance came in the 8th, when the MLB all stars drew two walks to put runners on first and second, but nothing came from that, and they went down quietly in the 9th.

In the 7th inning, Robinson Cano was hit in the foot with a pitch, and left the game with an injury, leading to concern for the MLB all stars. Cano left the Tokyo Dome to get X-rays on his big toe. No other information is available at this time.

Justin Morneau, the National League bating champion went 0-4 with two strikeouts, to drop him to 0-12 in the series. While Jose Altuve went 0-1 after replacing Cano in the 7th. Yasiel Puig went 0-3 with a strikeout to drop him to 0-7 on the trip.

These two teams play again Sunday morning at 4:00 Eastern time in the fourth game of the series. The game will be broadcast on MLB Network.

GAME MVP: Takahiro Norimoto (Japan)

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About the author
Stevie Larson
NASCAR Editor, Minnesota sports fan. Contact: [email protected]