Intro:

United States Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy welcomed members of Major League Baseball's All-Star tour -- including Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell and Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie -- at her residence on Friday.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Kennedy, US Ambassador:

"Baseball's brought generations of Japanese and American kids together through a love of the sport and I look forward to a shared future of baseball diplomacy. So, thank you to the All Star team and the Japanese Samurais. Thank you for your hard work all season and for participating in these games this week."

SOUNDBITE (English) of John Farrell, coach, MLB All Star team and Boston Red Sox:
"We're looking forward to this series continuing here in Tokyo tonight. As long as (Kenta) Maeda doesn't pitch against us, I think we got another good opportunity here tonight."

SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Guthrie, pitcher, Kansas City Royals:
"I hope they see lots of outs from my pitching. That is my goal. But I will enjoy it. It's a great opportunity, again, to pitch here in Tokyo in a historic stadium against a very talented team with many great Japanese all-star players."