By staying in Tokyo, Berg missed an opportunity to beef up his paltry .111 batting average.  The ballpark at Omiya was small, holding just 8,000 spectators, with short outfield fences.  Manager Daisuke Miyake started Kaichi Takeda for All Nippon.  The All Americans wasted little time as they aimed for the short fences and crashed home run after home run.  By the end of the first, they were up 10-0.  The Major Leaguers added one in third, fourth, and fifth innings, to build a 13-1 lead.  Up by such a large margin, All American pitcher Earl Whitehill lost his focus and gave up four in the sixth as Jimmy Horio finally came through with a three-run homer.  Down by nine, Miyake brought in little Shinji Hamazaki for Takeda, but Hamazaki fared no better, giving up eight runs in the bottom of the sixth and two in the seventh.  In the bottom of the eighth with the score 23-5, Miyake brought in a new pitcher, 18-year-old Victor Starffin. 

Standing about 6’ 3” with blonde hair and blue eyes, Starffin looked a bit out of place on the All Nippon team. Victor was the son of a Russian military officer who had served Czar Nicholas II.  During the Russian Revolution, the Starffins escaped by traveling in a freight train packed with typhoid patients and later hiding from the Red Army in a truck carrying corpses.  The family settled in the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido, Japan.  Young Victor picked up baseball quickly and soon became a regional star.  He hoped to play college ball, but in 1933 his father was convicted of murdering a young Russian woman who worked in his cafe.  Through a combination of extortion and promises, Yomiuri representatives convinced the young man to forsake college and play for the All Nippon team.

                


The young Russian was wild at first, walking Lou Gehrig and later Earl Averill, but both his fastball and curve were working well and he struck out Jimmy Foxx between the two walks and induced Bing Miller to ground into a double play to end the inning.  In all, the All Americans hit ten home runs—three by Gehringer, two by Ruth and pitcher Earl Whitehill, and one each by Foxx, Gehrig, and Hayes.

November 30th was final free day in Japan.  They spent the day doing last minute shopping, saying goodbye to new friends, and preparing for the long journey home.