Team USA Baseball

Team USA Baseball Aug 2, 2021 20:21:57 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 2, 2021 20:21:57 GMT

U.S. blows ninth-inning lead as Japan walks off with big win | Tokyo Olympics | NBC Sports

Team USA lost to Japan by a 7-6 final in 10 innings on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games baseball tournament.

Team USA fell behind early, with Japan taking a 2-0 lead in the third inning against American starter Shane Baz (a prospect with the Tampa Bay Rays). Hayato Sakamoto doubled and then scored on a single from Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida later scored on a Yuki Yanagita single, which chased Baz from the game in favor of reliever Brandon Dickson.

Nevertheless, Team USA would rally against former New York Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka to take the lead back in the subsequent frame as part of action-packed fourth and fifth innings. Longtime big-league veteran Todd Frazier put the Americans on the board with an RBI double in the fourth. Mark Kolozsvary plated him with a single and Nick Allen later drove in a run of his own with another single.

Japan would score in their half of the fourth to tie the game at 3-3. It wouldn't remain even for long, however, as Triston Casas (a prospect with the Boston Red Sox) delivered a three-run shot in the fifth inning to give the Americans a 6-3 lead:

Once more Japan would score in their half of the inning. First on a solo home run by Seiya Suzuki off reliever Anthony Carter, and then another with a Ryosuke Kikuchi single that made it a 6-5 game.

The two sides would trade zeros from then until the ninth inning -- though Japan was able to get the potential tying run to third base in the eighth against David Robertson -- when Japan tied the game against reliever Scott McGough. Suzuki accepted a one-out walk before coming around to score on a Yuki Yanagita groundout.

Under Olympic rules, extra innings began with runners on first and second base. The Americans were unable to plate a run in the top half of the 10th. Japan, conversely, had pinch-hitter Ryoya Kurihara bunt the runners over. American manager Mike Scioscia aligned his defense so that he had five infielders behind pitcher Edwin Jackson, but it didn't matter. Rather, Takuya Kai delivered a long drive to right field that scored the winning run.

Japan will now advance to play South Korea, who defeated Team Israel in the other quarterfinal game, on Wednesday. That game is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. ET. Team U

Team USA Baseball Aug 6, 2021 20:04:10 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 6, 2021 20:04:10 GMT

The U.S. baseball team put its back against the wall with a second-round loss to Japan on Aug. 2, but now will get a chance for revenge on the hosts for a gold medal after defeating South Korea 7-2 in the semifinal Thursday night at Yokohama Stadium.

Joe Ryan started and allowed just one run in 4.1 innings and Tyler Austin went 2-for-4 with two RBI to boost Team USA to victory. Ryan and South Korea starter Eui-Lee Lee dueled in the game’s first half, with Lee going five innings, striking out nine and surrendering just two runs. But the U.S. broke the game open in the sixth after Lee exited, scoring five runs and putting the game out of reach. The gold-medal game is set for Saturday in Yokohama.

The U.S. got out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a Jack Lopez RBI single in the second and Jamie Westbrook’s moonshot home run to left in the fourth. Ryan ran into his first real trouble in the top of the fifth, hitting a batter then allowing his first run after back to back singles. Ryder Ryan entered in relief with a runner in scoring position and promptly induced a double play. Ryan would pitch the sixth as well and didn’t allow a baserunner.

Former MLB All-Star Todd Frazier started the bottom of the sixth with a 12-pitch at-bat that ended in a walk, and the U.S. basepaths were busy after that. Five different South Korean relievers struggled to replace Lee as Team USA scored five runs. The U.S. would record two more walks and three hits in the inning, the final one coming off the hot bat of Austin. His single raised his average in the tournament to .400 and plated two runs, raising his RBI total to seven.

Protecting a five-run lead, reliever Scott McGough’s struggles continued in Tokyo in the top of the seventh as he allowed three hits and one unearned run. Anthony Gose entered and ensured South Korea would get no closer, striking out both batters he faced to end the threat. Gose would come back out for a scoreless eighth. Anthony Carter then locked won the ninth, pitching a perfect inning to send Team USA to the gold-medal game.