The United States booked a spot in the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament’s second semifinal on Thursday against South Korea, while the Dominican Republic advanced to Saturday afternoon’s bronze medal match, and Japan booked a spot in the gold medal game.
Japan 5, South Korea 2
At Yokohama Stadium: Japan manager Atsunori Inaba went with a more powerful lineup, moving speedy slugger Tetsuto Yamada from DH into his regular second-base spot, and the Swallows star delivered. Yamada had a hand in all five Japan runs, with a sacrifice, a leadoff double and a three-run eighth-inning tie-breaking double.
In a tense game befitting the two nations whose pro leagues halted for the Olympics and fielded teams of all-stars, South Korea, the defending 2008 Olympic champions battled back to tie it 2-2 against Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The right-hander struck out nine but came undone after Park Hae Min turned a flare to left into a sixth-inning leadoff double. KT Wiz-kid Kang Baek Ho singled home Park. Lee Jung Hoo singled to put runners on the corners. Yamamoto stayed in to face right-handed-hitting Yang Yui Ji, who leads the Korea Baseball Organization in home runs and slugging average for the NC Dinos and struck him out.
Hanshin Tigers lefty Suguru Iwazaki surrendered a single to Korea captain Kim Hyun Soo, a former major leaguer with the Orioles and Phillies, and a veteran of the 2008 gold medal-winning team.
With two on and one out, Iwazaki posted back-to-back strikeouts, and Japan got two impressive innings from Fighters rookie Hiromi Ito.
Japan, which had to scrape to score twice and tricky side-arm righty Ko Yeoung Pyo over six innings, had little luck when South Korea turned on the heat out of the bullpen until they got to LG Twins closer Go Woo Suk in the eighth.
Yuki Yanagita singled through the infield, and was forced at second by Keisuke Kondo. A wild pitch convinced Korea to walk slugger Munetaka Murakami, and as happens sometimes, an unintentional walk to Takuya Kai loaded the bases as he reached for the third time.
Yamada then hit a first-pitch fastball down the middle. He said he was a little late on it, but still managed to hit it off the top of the wall.
Hiromi Ito followed Iwazaki with two impressive innings. He struck out three while allowing a double and a walk. The other rookie on Japan’s team, Ryoji Kuribayashi worked the ninth to end it.
Japan opened the scoring in the third. Murakami singled and Kai fell behind 0-2 trying to bunt. He then faked a bunt, swung at an extremely low pitch and shot it into right for a single. His bunting blood up, Inaba ordered Yamada to bunt, and he got one down, allowing Murakami to score on a Hayato Sakamoto sac fly.
Ko couldn’t find the strike zone against Yoshida and walked him, allowing him to get out of the inning against Seiya Suzuki, whose only hit in the tournament is a home run. He and No. 5 hitter Hideto Asamura, who did have some good swings, went a combined 0-for-8.
When Yamada doubled and scored on Yoshida’s one-out single in the fifth, Ko got out of trouble by striking out Suzuki and Asamura.
The win was Japan’s first over Korea since only amateurs were allowed to play in 1996.
United States 3, Dominican Republic 1
At Yokohama Stadium: Tristan Casas belted his third home run of the Olympics, with one out and a man on in the first, and Tyler Austin, who walked and scored in the first, hit his second homer of the Olympics in his home park, where he plays for Yokohama’s DeNA BayStars.
Scott Kazmir struck out five, walked one and allowed two hits over five scoreless innings to earn the win. Brandon Dickson, Scott McGough, Anthony Gose and David Robertson finished up, allowing the Dominicans’ only score on catcher Charlie Valerio’s ninth-inning home run.
