In a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinals, Japan scored two runs to secure its first gold medal in the sport.
In a rematch of the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games, Japan scored two runs to defeat Team USA 2–0 to secure the gold medal in baseball Saturday at Yokohama Baseball Stadium.
Team USA (4–2) finished with silver and earned its sixth Olympic medal for baseball and its fourth as an official sport in the Olympics. With baseball returning back for the first time since 2008, Japan (5-0) had previously earned two bronze medals (1992, 2004) and one silver medal (1996) before winning gold on Saturday. Dominican Republic secured bronze in the sport.
The last time the U.S. won gold in baseball was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics when it defeated Cuba.
Japan's pitching—Masato Morishita, Koudai Senga, Hiromi Itoh and Suguru Iwazaki—kept Team USA scoreless in the game. However, Japan managed only two more hits (eight) than Team USA's six.
U.S. pitcher Nick Martinez, who started against the Japanese, allowed a home run and five of Japan's six hits, striking out seven through six innings. Japan did not earn its second and final run of the game until the eighth inning when Tetsuto Yamada scored on a throwing error by U.S. center fielder Jack López.
In the previous quarterfinals game between the two teams, Japan won 7–6 in the extra-innings matchup.
U.S. infielder Eddy Alvarez—the U.S. opening ceremony flag-bearer—also became the sixth athlete of all-time to win an Olympic medal in both the Summer and Winter Games, becoming the third American athlete to do so following Eddie Egan (1920, 1932) and Lauryn Williams (2004, 2012, 2014). Alvarez won silver in the 5000-meter relay in short track speed skating at Sochi.
United States drops to 1–2 in medal-round games in the Olympics against Japan.
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