World Baseball Classic Team Japan members Norichika Aoki and Shinya Miyamoto helped the Yakult Swallows beat the Hanshin Tigers 7-5 in a preseason game Thursday.
Yomiuri Giants lefty Tetsuya Utsumi pitches against the Yokohama BayStars during a preseason game at Yokohama Stadium.
Fresh from winning the inaugural 16-nation tournament, leadoff man Aoki went 1-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases, and Miyamoto was 2-for-5 in the No. 2 spot and scored twice at Jingu Stadium.
Andy Sheets homered twice and drove in four of Hanshin's five runs. Right-hander Naohisa Sugiyama gave up six runs and nine hits to Yakult in five innings.
BayStars 5, Giants 5 (9)
Yokohama outfielder Seiichi Uchikawa went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Yomiuri lefty Tetsuya Utsumi, vying for a spot in the rotation, held Yokohama to one run and six hits in five innings at Yokohama Stadium.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.