USA Baseball: Americans win silver medal following 2-0 loss to host nation Japan

Team USA lost 2-0 to Japan on Saturday in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s baseball gold medal game.

The Americans, seeking their first gold medal in men’s baseball since 2000, had also lost to Japan to open the week. That defeat sent them to the losers’ bracket, and forced them to win contests against the Dominican Republic and South Korea to reach this point. (The Dominican Republic, it should be noted, defeated South Korea for the bronze.)

Below, you’ll find five takeaways from the gold medal game.

1. Morishita masterful
Japan’s efforts were paced in large part by right-handed starter Masato Morishita.

Morishita, a 23-year-old member of the Hiroshima Carp, dazzled against the Americans. He threw five innings, permitted three hits and no walks, and he struck out five batters and generated 11 swinging strikes on 81 pitches. Morishita’s excellent outing shouldn’t be too surprising; in 218 career innings in Nippon Professional Baseball, he has accumulated a 2.15 ERA and a 3.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

American starter Nick Martinez, by the way, delivered a quality start. He allowed five hits and a walk across six innings of work. He also punched out seven batters and coerced 15 whiffs. Martinez, who has pitched in the majors before with the Texas Rangers, is presently employed by NPB’s Fukuoka Softbank Hawks./blockquote>

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: August 07, 2021 at 06:09 PM | 52 comment(s)
  Beats: olympics

Team USA baseball defeats Dominican Republic, moves a win away from gold medal game

Team USA defeated the Dominican Republic by a 3-1 score as part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics baseball tournament on Tuesday night. As a result, the Americans will now advance to play South Korea on Thursday with a spot in the gold medal game vs. Japan on the line.

Team USA jumped ahead early, staking out a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a two-run home run by Boston Red Sox first base prospect Triston Casas. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the fifth, when the Americans’ advantage swelled to 3-0 thanks to a solo home run by Tyler Austin. (Austin had also scored as part of Casas’ homer.)

On the pitching side of things, Team USA was paced by veteran southpaw Scott Kazmir. He delivered five shutout innings for the Americans, holding the Dominican Republican to just two hits and a walk. Kazmir struck out five of the 18 batters he faced and threw 80 pitches overall. The Americans then received four shutout innings from a combination of four relievers: Brandon Dickson, Scott McGough, Anthony Gose and David Robertson.

Everything you need to know about Olympic baseball rosters

United States: Manager Mike Scioscia rolls out a team that combines big league veterans like Todd Frazier, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson and David Robertson with prospects like Oakland A’s shortstop Nick Allen, Boston Red Sox first baseman Tristan Casas, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz and new Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan. Frazier has become the de facto team captain, and while he and Kazmir appeared in the majors this season, the younger guys are the players to watch. Baz might be the pitcher you want to start against Japan, as he has a 2.26 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A, with 82 strikeouts in 55.2 innings. Ryan, just traded from the Rays to the Twins, is also in Triple-A, where he has 3.63 ERA with 75 K’s in 57 innings. Don’t be surprised to see both in the majors later this season.

The best hitter on the team might actually be Tyler Austin, who spent parts of four seasons in the majors from 2016 to 2019. He has been one of the top sluggers in Japan’s Central League, hitting .314/.413/.603 with 19 home runs. One of the coolest stories of the Olympics is infielder Eddy Alvarez, who was one of the flag bearers for the U.S. during the opening ceremony. He won a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics as part of the 5,000-meter short track speedskating relay team. He appeared in 12 games for the Marlins last season and will become the rare athlete to compete in both the Winter and Summer Olympics. While Japan is the favorite, the U.S. certainly has a chance. It will be interesting to see if Scioscia ends up relying more on the veteran pitchers or the prospects.

How to Watch Olympic Baseball Qualifying

The team with the best record at the end of the WBSC Baseball Americas qualifying games wins an automatic bid to the Olympics. Meanwhile, the second- and third-best teams advance to face Australia, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands in a second qualifying tournament June 16-20 in Mexico with the winner earning the final qualifying bid….

Much like the Team USA basketball qualifiers, the WBCS Baseball Americas qualifying games will be broadcast on ESPN+…

Among the top prospects will be Red Sox duo Jarren Duran (outfield) and Triston Casas (first and third baseman), Cardinals pitcher Matt Liberatore and Blue Jays pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson.

US Schedule:

Date Opponent Time Channel
May 31 Nicaragua 7 p.m. ESPN+
June 1 Dominican Republic 7 p.m. ESPN+
June 2 Puerto Rico 7 p.m. ESPN+
June 4 Super Round Game (TBD) TBD ESPN+
June 5 Super Round Game (TBD) TBD ESPN+

That’s your relevant information. Mike Scioscia manages this nine with Dave Wallace as pitching coach. Despite being listed on the roster in the link Matt Wieters has been dropped from the roster but Scioscia said “he is on the radar if we move forward.”

Team USA Olympic qualifying baseball roster includes Matt Kemp, Todd Frazier, Homer Bailey

Mike Scioscia will manage Team USA, and his coaching staff includes Jerry Weinstein (bench coach), Dave Wallace (pitching coach), Ernie Young (hitting and first base coach), Darren Fenster (third base coach), and Roly de Armas (bullpen coach).

Host team Japan has already qualified for Olympic baseball competition this year, as has Mexico, Israel, and South Korea. The U.S. will be competing with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, and Nicaragua in the qualifying tournament in Florida that begins May 31. The winner of that tournament will claim the fifth spot in the Olympics. The second- and third-place teams from that tournament will then compete with Australia, Taiwan, and the Netherlands for the sixth and final Olympic berth. So in essence, Team USA is one of 11 teams vying for two remaining spots.

Mike Scioscia gets back into managing, will lead Team USA in Olympics quest

For the first time since leaving the Angels three years ago, Mike Scioscia is back in the dugout.

Scioscia was selected Tuesday as manager of Team USA. He’ll lead the team in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Florida in June.

The U.S. is one of 12 countries competing for the final two spots in the baseball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics. Mexico, Israel, South Korea and host Japan already have qualified.

Scioscia is a three-time World Series champion, as a catcher for the Dodgers in 1981 and 1988, and as manager of the Angels in 2002. His 1,650 victories as a major league manager — all in his 19 seasons with the Angels — rank 19th on the all-time list.

Baseball, softball weigh merger for Olympic bid

By their powers combined….

Baseball and softball could merge into one international governing body in hopes of returning to the Olympics.

The sports are meeting with Olympic officials this week to find out how much co-operation is required to regain their summer games status, International Softball Federation President Don Porter said Tuesday.

“There are a lot of benefits of being an Olympic sport. That is what you have to weigh against losing your identity,” Porter told The Associated Press.

Porter and International Baseball Federation (IBAF) President Riccardo Fraccari are meeting separately with IOC sports director Christophe Dubi to get a better idea of the bidding process for the 2020 Olympic program.

Fraccari said the sports “have to study many things.” Baseball-playing countries must first back a joint bid at a Dec. 3 meeting in Dallas.

Baseball and softball are competing with karate, roller sports, sports climbing, squash, wakeboard and wushu for one spot on the 2020 program. The IOC will vote on the sports in September 2013.

The IOC voted in 2005 to remove baseball and softball from the Olympic program after the 2008 Beijing Games.

Two years ago, baseball and softball failed to get IOC support for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics when offering separate proposals for women’s baseball and men’s softball. Golf and seven-a-side rugby, which offered men’s and women’s medal events, were voted onto the 2016 program.

Baseball and softball officials now agree, following IOC advice, that co-operation is their best hope of regaining Olympic status.

al.com: Former Olympic baseball player charged with making meth near Loxley school

It’s B.J. Wallace.

Billy Lyle “BJ” Wallace Jr., 40, and Amber Sheree McKenzie, 29, were being held in Baldwin County Corrections Center as of Wednesday, both charged with first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Wallace, a Monroeville native, pitched for the U.S. team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and the Montreal Expos picked him third in that year’s amateur draft, signing the left-hander for $550,000, according to baseball-reference.com and Press-Register archives.

He set an Olympic record for strikeouts in a game by fanning 14 in a win over Italy, but he never reached the major leagues. ...

While his professional baseball career never prospered, Wallace put up impressive numbers in organized baseball.

In 1992, Wallace set a Mississippi State University school record with 145 strikeouts, according to baseball-reference.com.