NAGOYA Matt Adams Jersey , Japan (AP) — Takuya Kai hit a go-ahead double off Dan Otero in the eighth inning, capping a comeback from a four-run deficit that led Japan over the MLB All-Stars 6-5 Wednesday and clinched the six-game exhibition series 4-1.Down 5-1, Japan tied the score with a four-run seventh against Hector Velazquez.Kai started the comeback with an RBI single in the seventh, and Velazquez threw wildly into center field for a run-scoring error on Kazuki Tanaka’s comebacker. Pinch-hitter Hotaka Yamakawa followed with a two-run double.Seiji Uebayashi singled with two outs in the eighth off Otero, who took the loss, and scored from first on Kai’s double.Winner Yu Sato struck out two in a hitless eighth, and Yuki Matsui worked around Juan Soto’s leadoff single in the ninth for the save.“They did a nice job of battling our guys and putting the ball in play,” MLB manager Don Mattingly said. “They had a number of hits the opposite way and they’ve gotten big hits. You know Kevin Long Jersey , there isn’t any way to go around it, they did a nice job.”MLB starter Junior Guerra allowed one run in five innings, a second-inning home run by Kazuma Okamoto. Japan starter Nao Higashihama gave up three runs and six hits in three innings.Rhys Hoskins hit two-run homer in the second, Soto had an RBI single in the third, and Carlos Santana had an RBI single in the sixth.The final game is Thursday at the Nagoya Dome. WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals begin their final homestand of the season Thursday night when they host the New York Mets.They’ll play seven games over seven days against the Mets and Marlins, but the stakes are much lower than in previous years. They won’t be clinching a playoff berth or setting a rotation or auditioning players for a post-season roster spot.Washington (77-75) sits seven games behind the Braves in the National League East and 6 1/2 behind the Cardinals for the second wild card. A best-case scenario would seem to be staving off mathematical elimination until they end the season with three road games in Colorado.Article continues below ...The homestand may be the last for All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper, a free-agent in the offseason.“I haven’t really thought about it,” Harper told the Washington Post. “I think it’ll really hit that last game I guess http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , running off the field or something like that. I’m just trying to enjoy it and see what happens.”After a rough first half, Harper enters the final 10 games hitting .247 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs. He has never driven in 100 runs.The Mets (70-82) long ago became a non-factor in 2018 and are already looking ahead to next season when they could boast arguably the best starting rotation in the East.On Wednesday, they announced they were shutting down right-hander Zack Wheeler (12-7, 3.31 ERA) for the remainder of the season, with Corey Oswalt taking his place in the rotation.Wheeler, who didn’t pitch in the majors in 2015 and 2016, had a shortened 2017. This season he’s gone 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA over his last 11 starts but has pitched almost 100 more innings than a year ago.“We’re really excited about the year he had, and we feel like we’d probably be taking the best care of him we can if we shut him down at this point Ryan Zimmerman Jersey ,” manager Mickey Callaway told mlb.com.Left-hander Jason Vargas (6-9, 6.47 ERA) starts Thursday’s opener for the Mets.Vargas has also enjoyed a strong finish. His ERA was in double digits back in May and after an Aug. 7 loss it was 8.75 to go along with a 2-8 record. He’s given up two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, including last time out when he beat the Marlins, allowing two runs over six innings.Vargas is 1-3 with a 0.83 ERA, in six games (three starts) against Washington.Right-hander Max Scherzer (17-7, 2.53 ERA) starts for Washington. Scherzer has 277 strikeouts coming in and needs eight to top his career high of 284, set in 2016. He has 16 double-digit strikeout games on the season.In his last start, Scherzer was roughed up by the Braves http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , giving up six runs on seven hits over four innings, his shortest start of the season as he seeks a third straight NL Cy Young Award.“I just couldn’t get into a rhythm where I knew where those balls were actually going to end up. I couldn’t control my misses,” Scherzer told the Washington Post. “I was pitching out of the stretch so much. I never found a rhythm out of the windup to be able to take it to the stretch to be able to execute clean innings.”Scherer is 9-4 with a 2.34 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) against the Mets.