1 of 13

All Japan's Yuki Yanagita, right, is celebrated by head coach Makoto Kaneko after hitting a walk-off two-run home-run off MLB All-Star closer Kirby Yates of the San Diego Padres to win Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Japan's national team beat Major League's team 7-6. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

2 of 13

All Japan's Yuki Yanagita, right, rounds third base as he is welcomed by teammates at home after hitting a walk-off two-run home-run off MLB All-Star closer Kirby Yates of the San Diego Padres in the ninth inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Japan's national team won 7-6. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

3 of 13

MLB All-Star left fielder Juan Soto, left, of the Washington Nationals celebrates with teammate Rhys Hoskins of the Philadelphia Phillies after hitting a two-run home-run off All Japan's pitcher Akitake Okada in the sixth inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

4 of 13

MLB All-Star shortstop Amed Rosario (1) of the New York Mets celebrates while rounding bases after hitting a solo home-run off All Japan's starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi in the third inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

5 of 13

MLB All-Star shortstop Amed Rosario of the New York Mets hits a solo home-run off All Japan's starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi in the third inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

6 of 13

MLB All-Star shortstop Amed Rosario (1) of the New York Mets watches his solo home-run off All Japan's starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi in the third inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

7 of 13

MLB All-Star shortstop Amed Rosario (1) of the New York Mets celebrates with teammates at the bench after hitting a solo home-run off All Japan's starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi in the third inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

8 of 13

MLB All-Star shortstop Amed Rosario (1) of the New York Mets celebrates while rounding bases after hitting a solo home-run off All Japan's starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi in the third inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

9 of 13

MLB All-Star first baseman Carlos Santana (41) of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a three-run home-run off All Japan's pitcher Kakeru Narita in the 5th inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

10 of 13

MLB All-Star Carlos Santana, center, of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds bases after hitting a three-run home-run off All Japan's pitcher Kakeru Narita, right, in the 5th inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

11 of 13

MLB All-Star first baseman Carlos Santana (41) of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with teammate Amed Rosario (1) of the New York Mets at home after hitting a three-run home-run off All Japan's pitcher Kakeru Narita in the 5th inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. At right is Japan's catcher Takuya Kai. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

12 of 13

MLB All-Star first baseman Carlos Santana (41) of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with teammates Yadier Molina (4) of the St. Louis Cardinals and Amed Rosario (1) of the New York Mets after hitting a three-run home-run off All Japan's pitcher Kakeru Narita in the 5th inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

13 of 13

MLB All-Star left fielder Juan Soto (22) of the Washington Nationals rounds third base after hitting a two-run home-run off All Japan's pitcher Akitake Okada in the sixth inning of Game 1 of their All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi)

Yanagita hits 'sayonara' home run to lift Japan over MLB

By Associated Press Tokyo

PUBLISHED 2:15 PM ET May. 09, 2019

TOKYO (AP) — Yuki Yanagita hit a game-ending, two-run home run off Kirby Yates in the ninth inning, and Japan beat the MLB All-Stars 7-6 Friday in the opener of a six-game exhibition series.

Juan Soto, Carlos Santana and Amed Rosario homered to build a 6-4 lead.

Yates relieved Collin McHugh to start the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Seiji Uebayashi, who stole second. Pinch-hitter Tsubasa Aizawa had a one-out RBI single, and Yanagita homered to center two pitches later before 44,943 at Tokyo Dome.

"No matter how you look at it, it's tough to lose a game like that," MLB manager Don Mattingly said. "You feel like you played well enough to win. ... Other than that last inning, I thought we played well."

Rosario had a solo homer in the third and Santana hit a three-run homer in the fifth for a 4-1 lead, but Shogo Akiyama hit a three-double double off Matt Andriese in the bottom half. Soto hit an opposite field two-run homer to left in the sixth.

"Before the game, we talked about getting off to a good start to build up some confidence for the rest of the series," Akiyama said. "We never felt like we were out of it and knew if we stayed close we'd have a chance to win."

The series continues this weekend with two more games in Tokyo followed by one game in Hiroshima on Tuesday and two games in Nagoya on Wednesday and Thursday.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.