XINZHUANG, Taiwan – Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam to lead a team of major league stars to a 7-0 win over Taiwan's national team on Tuesday night.
The Yankees slugger went deep off Yao-Hsun Yang in the third inning, electrifying the crowd at the suburban Taipei stadium before the game was called in the sixth inning because of rain.
The five-game series between MLB stars including Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval and Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie resumes on Thursday.
The teams will play twice in the central Taiwanese city of Taichung before moving onto the southern city of Kaohsiung for two weekend matchups.
The trip offers MLB a chance to increase its exposure in Taiwan, one of two Asian countries in which the sport is widely popular.
Tuesday night, the big leaguers added two runs in the 4th on a single by Emilio Bonifacio of the Florida Marlins and another in the 5th when Michael Morse of the Washington Nationals doubled off the wall in left center.
Granderson said that despite his success on the home run ball, it was a challenge facing Yang, whom he had never faced him before."
"I didn't know what he would throw," he said. "I had to make adjustments."
MLB manager Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants said he's a big Granderson fan.
"Of course Curtis with the grand slam, that kind of jump started everything," he said.
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