Yu Darvish cruised through four hitless innings and combined with five relievers on a shutout of China in the WBC opener Thursday.
Japan managed only four runs, but that was still plenty against a Chinese lineup lacking any power at all. Shuichi Murata, who has led the Central League in homers each of the last two seasons, delivered a two-run blast in the contest. The four MLB players in the lineup combined to go hitless, though Kosuke Fukudome walked all four times he was up. Ichiro Suzuki was 0-for-5, while Akinori Iwamura was 0-for-4 and Kenji Johjima went 0-for-3 with one walk.
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