Otsuka, Ishii will get much attention during trip to Japan
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Akinori Otsuka and Kazuhisa Ishii expect to get a lot of attention in Japan when they play with a team of major leaguers in an exhibition series against Japanese All-Stars starting next week.
Otuska, a reliever with the San Diego Padres, and Ishii, a starter with the Los Angeles Dodgers, will play with a team that includes World Series MVP Manny Ramirez and Boston Red Sox teammate David Ortiz, pitchers Jason Marquis and Ray King of the NL champion St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos outfielder Brad Wilkerson.
The eight-game trip from Nov. 5-14 goes through Fukuoka, Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya and Ishii's hometown of Tokyo.
Otsuka and will also be accompanied by Padres manager Bruce Bochy and teammate and fellow pitcher Jake Peavy.
Ishii also will have a couple of familiar faces with him on the trip, including Dodgers second baseman Alex Cora and pitching coach Jim Colborn -- who spent four seasons in Japan as a coach with the Orix Blue Wave and five more as Pacific Rim scoring director for the Seattle Mariners before guiding Ishii through his first three big league seasons.
Ishii is 36-25 with the Dodgers and has a 4.30 career ERA, but was left off the team's postseason roster after struggling down the stretch.
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