The 2020 Olympics - Japan vs. USA Baseball

Well, the 2020 Olympics have come to a close.  I think many people throughout the world enjoyed the games immensely, while others derided them.  Remember before the games started how many people in Japan thought that they should have been canceled?  I have to assume that many of those same people have since watched some of their favorite sports competitions on TV, and changed their minds about the Olympics midstream.

In Japan, much attention was paid to their rivalry with the United States.  Although there were other compelling head-to-head matchups between Japan and the US, most notably in softball and women's basketball, this game was keenly watched by the host nation because Japan had never won the gold in Olympic baseball before.  And, considering that baseball is America's "national pastime", the pride of the USA was at stake too.

Team USA was a collection of minor leaguers and former Major League Baseball players.  Some of those with Major League experience were All Stars at one time or another.  A few of the players now play for Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams.  MLB did not allow their players to participate in the Olympics during its regular season, so Japan had a distinct advantage.  

Conversely, Team Japan was loaded with All Stars from its own major leagues.  Unlike MLB, NPB took a one-month break in their schedule to allow their players to participate in the Olympics.  

The two teams had just played five days earlier in a group play match.  Team Japan came away with the win in a close game.  Perhaps that victory would give them confidence in the gold medal game.

The rematch for the gold was a close affair too. Team USA batted first, and hit three balls right on the nose, but they were loud outs.  Serendipitously, Team Japan's fielders were in the right place each time to make each play.  

Japan did not fare much better until the fourth inning, when Munetaka Murakami, 21, the youngest player in Japan's starting lineup, drove the ball to the opposite field over the 16-foot wall in left-center.  Martinez grimaced as it landed in the fourth row of the empty blue bleachers.

Japan scored an unearned run in the eighth inning. Masataka Yoshida singled off U.S. reliever Scott McGough and center fielder Jack López committed a horrendous throwing error that allowed Tetsuto Yamada to score.

As it turned out, the extra insurance run was not needed, as Japan's pitching—Masato Morishita, Koudai Senga, Hiromi Itoh and Suguru Iwazaki—combined for a shutout.

Morishita held the U.S. to three hits over five innings, struck out five and walked none. 

Team USA's starting pitcher, Nick Martinez, who plays for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, allowed a home run and five of Japan's six hits, striking out seven through six innings.

After the last out, Team Japan celebrated their 2-0 victory on the field, and the sparse crowd of volunteers and groundskeepers gave them a nice ovation.