For two days in Japan, it's the Hanshin Tigers who have looked like the class of the National League. In another sign that Japanese baseball has never been better, the Tigers capped a two-game sweep over MLB clubs with a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.

Maybe the Hanshin Tigers are baseball’s real evil empire.One day after the Japanese team, which plays in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, shut out the Chicago Cubs in an exhibition contest at the Tokyo Dome,

The Tigers started the two-game sweep on Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs after 20-year-old lefty Keito Mombetsu threw five perfect innings. No Cubs reached base until Miguel Amaya smacked a single through the infield in the sixth that just got past the shortstop.

The Chicago Cubs began their first of two exhibition games in Japan by losing 3-0 to the Hanshin Tigers. Offensively, the Cubs were held without a hit until the sixth inning and finished with just three in the contest.