TOKYO - Takahiro Norimoto combined with three relievers on a no-hitter, and Japan beat the Major League Baseball All-Stars 4-0 on Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in their five-game series.
Hayato Sakamoto and Sho Nakata each hit a two-run homer.
Norimoto, who went 14-10 with a 3.02 ERA this season for the Rakuten Eagles, struck out six over five perfect innings to pick up the win.
"It's too good to be true," Norimoto said. "I wanted to see how my pitches would work against MLB hitters. The fact that my teammate (Motohiro) Shima was catching made me feel at ease and I was able to perform as usual. The atmosphere at the park was really nice. It was the best outing of my career."
Yuki Nishi took over from Norimoto and struck out four with one walk over two innings. Kazuhisa Makita struck out two in the eighth and Yuji Nishino retired the side in the ninth.
"The story tonight was in the hit column with a zero on it," MLB manager John Farrell said. "Norimoto was outstanding. He was very efficient. He has a powerful fastball and very good late action to go with his split, his slider and cutter."
