Reyes hits walk off 2 run hr in the 10th to complete sweep..

MLB completes sweep with walk-off
By Ian Browne / MLB.com

Jose Reyes watches his walk-off shot in the bottom of the 10th Wednesday. (Andrew T. Malana/MLB.com)
MLB Headlines

FUKUOKA, Japan -- In the United States, it has become universally known as the walk-off homer. Here in Japan, the adjective they use for a game-ending blast is "sayonara".
On behalf of all the Major League All-Stars who wreaked havoc here for the past week, Jose Reyes said sayonara to the fine folks of Japan. The Mets' shortstop clubbed a two-run homer with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th inning, instantly capping this Japan All-Star Series with a 5-3 victory over Nippon Professional Baseball in Game 5.

It was a clean sweep -- the first in the history of the Japan All-Star Series.

"We came all the way over from the States to come here and play, and to win," said Ryan Howard, the MVP of the All-Star Series. "The Japanese team was great, they never stopped fighting. They were in every game. They gave us a good run for our money. Reyes was fortunate to have a little bit of motivation from myself and David Wright and some of our other teammates to be able to go up there and hit one."

What did that motivation entail?

"We were just messing around with him," said Howard. "We were telling him, 'Don't be afraid to do something.' He rose to the occasion."

So much so that the Fukuoka Dome suddenly sounded like Shea Stadium, with chants of "Jose, Jose, Jose" cascading around the home-run hero.

"It feels good to have some fans on the other side of the country," said Reyes. "It was exciting for me when I heard my name, Jose, Jose. I felt like I was playing in Shea Stadium. It was kind of exciting for me."

And it encapsulated the feel of the entire series, which entailed three games in Tokyo and one each in Osaka and Fukuoka.

"It just goes to show you that baseball transcends just where we are," said Howard. "It's global. For people to cheering for Jose and anybody and everybody on the team is a good feeling."

I love it, the whole Jose-Jose-Jose thing, in JAPAN, is just amazing. If we get Matsuzaka, we will be that side of the countries favorite baseball team by far.