MLB All Stars Win Japan Series

TOKYO (AP) _ The major leaguers finally got things right, although they needed the jolt of three straight losses. <br><br>They defeated the Japanese stars 4-2 Sunday, winning for the fourth consecutive

Sunday, November 17th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TOKYO (AP) _ The major leaguers finally got things right, although they needed the jolt of three straight losses.

They defeated the Japanese stars 4-2 Sunday, winning for the fourth consecutive time to capture the seven-game exhibition series.

Ichiro Suzuki went 4-for-4, Eric Chavez hit a solo homer in the eighth inning and Torii Hunter _ the series MVP _ made a fine running catch in the ninth.

The major leaguers were in command after dropping the first three games. They have not lost an all-star tour of Japan since 1990, and this was their fifth straight series win.

``It didn't look good to lose the first three games,'' manager Art Howe said. ``But we had some great players on this team and we never gave up.''

Chavez homered in the bottom of the eighth at the Tokyo Dome to make it 4-2. An inning later, with a runner on second and one out, Norihiro Nakamura hit a fly to center but Hunter tracked down the ball against the wall to save a run.

``It was painful,'' Hunter said. ``But I just try to do anything I can to help our team win, and I'll just get in the whirlpool for a while.''

Suzuki, the Japanese star of the Seattle Mariners, had three singles and a double. Bartolo Colon allowed one run and five hits in six innings for the win. Eric Gagne recorded three outs for the save.

Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui, who intends to play in the majors next season, went 1-for-3 on Sunday and finished the series 4-for-27 with two RBIs.

``During this series, I saw the things I need to do and there are a lot of them,'' Matsui said. ``I want to show the fans a bigger Matsui and have to show the fans a bigger Matsui or there's no point in going over there.''

Matsui came out for a curtain call after the game and strolled to the mound to wave to the crowd.

``It's a shame he didn't show the fans and the major leaguers what he's capable of,'' Japan manager Tatsunori Hara said. ``There was a lot pressure on him during this series.''

Barry Bonds singled in the sixth and was replaced by Chavez. Jason Giambi followed with a single that sent Chavez to third and Eric Hinske's sacrifice fly made it 3-1.

Bonds had 10 RBIs and three homers in the series. He also hit two homers in a tuneup game against the Yomiuri Giants last Saturday, which the major leaguers won 8-1.

Japan didn't win after Bonds lifted the major leaguers to a 6-5 victory with a grand slam in Game 4 at Sapporo.

``Barry ignited us with that grand slam and we never looked back,'' Howe said.

The major leaguers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Suzuki led off with a double and scored on Bernie Williams' single. They made it 2-1 in the third when Paul Lo Duca scored from third after Roberto Alomar's bases-loaded double play.

Koji Uehara took the loss after giving up two runs on seven hits in five innings.