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Associated Press 9y

Japan beats All-Stars in exhibition

MLB, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals

NAHA, Japan -- Yuki Yanagita drove in two runs in the eighth inning as Japan beat the Major League Baseball All-Stars 6-4 Thursday in an exhibition game following their five-game postseason tour.

With runners on second and third and Japan leading 3-2, Yanagita singled to center off reliever Randy Choate to give his team a two-run lead. The hosts scored another run in the eighth when Ryosuke Kikuchi tripled to score Yanagita from first.

Jose Altuve scored from second on a Justin Morneau single to center in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 6-3 and the All-Stars added another run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Alcides Escobar that allowed Dexter Fowler to score from third.

Japan won three out of five games in the series with the two teams splitting two exhibition games played before and after the tour.

The All-Stars got on the scoreboard in the first inning when Escobar scored from third on Morneau's sacrifice fly to center.

Japan tied the game in the second on Kenta Imamiya's single off MLB starter Hector Santiago that scored Seiichi Uchikawa from second.

The hosts added a run in the fourth and took a 3-1 lead in the fifth before Evan Longoria hit a solo homer to left in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2.

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