Alou sparks fourth victory on Japan tour

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FUKUOKA, Japan -- Moises Alou drove in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded single in the first inning to lead his major league teammates to a 7-2 win Tuesday over the Japanese All-Stars in Game 4 of an eight-game exhibition series.

	Alou

The major league stars improved to 4-0, and have now won eight straight games against their Japanese counterparts dating back to the 2002 series.

Alou led the Chicago Cubs this season with a career-high 39 homers and 106 RBI, but the team declined an $11.5 million mutual option on the 38-year-old outfielder and will pay him a $2.5 million buyout.

Alou said he's still got a couple of productive seasons left.

"I still love to play. I feel like I can play every day and hit over 30 homers and 100 RBI, so I'd like to sign a two or three-year deal with someone," said Alou, whose father, Felipe, is manager of the San Francisco Giants. "I wanted to return to Chicago, but there's a bunch of other places I'd like to go. I want to finish my career on a high."

Jake Peavy, who went 15-6 in the regular season for the San Diego Padres, held the Japanese stars to two runs on six hits over five innings for the win.

"We've got a good mix on this team," said Peavy, who had a major league-leading 2.27 ERA this season. "This team has speed, power and plays great defense. Hopefully we can keep it going and win a few more games here."

The teams next play in Osaka on Wednesday before traveling to Sapporo and Nagoya. The series winds up back in Tokyo on Nov. 14. The last time a team of major league stars toured Japan was in 2002, finishing with a record of 5-3.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press

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