Japan beats US 2-0 to win 1st Olympic baseball gold medal

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — A Japanese team of All-Stars fulfilled a determined national mission to win the Olympic baseball gold medal for the first time, beating the United States 2-0 Saturday night behind Munetaka Murakami’s third-inning home run.

Masato Morishita and four relievers combined on a six-hitter, and the Japanese men (5-0) matched the accomplishment of the women’s softball team, which upended the Americans for their second straight gold medal.

Several hundred people who appeared to be Olympic volunteers cheered on Japan in a largely empty 34,000-capacity Yokohama Stadium, some wearing orange Japan jerseys and matching facemasks on the warm and humid night.

America, the nation that introduced baseball to Japan in 1872, finished 4-2. Teams were denied access to all 40-man roster players and many eligible top prospects by Major League Baseball and its clubs, hindering the U.S. and other countries whose top players are in MLB.

Murakami, at 21 the youngest player in Japan’s starting lineup but already a two-time All-Star in four seasons with the Central League’s Yakult Swallows, reached out for an 85.2 mph offspeed pitch with a 2-2 count from Nick Martinez (1-1). He drove the ball to the opposite field, over the 16-foot wall in left-center, and Martinez winced as it landed in the fourth row of the empty blue seats.

Japan added an unearned run in the eighth when Masataka Yoshida singled off reliever Scott McGough and center fielder Jack Lopez heaved the ball past the plate for an error that allowed Tetsuto Yamada to score. The Japanese beat the U.S. for the second time in six days, also rallying in the ninth and winning 7-6 in 10 innings on Aug. 2.

Morishita (2-0), a 23-year-old right-hander on the Hiroshima Toyo Carp who is the reigning Central League Rookie of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Japan-beats-US-2-0-to-win-1st-Olympic-baseball-16371546.php