Olympic baseball: U.S. pushed to brink after extra-inning loss to Japan
YOKOHAMA, Japan — The United States’ hopes for its first Olympic gold medal in baseball in 21 years is now hanging by a thread after an extra-inning loss in the quarterfinals to Japan.
Yuki Yanagita tied it with an RBI grounder off Scott McGough in the ninth inning, Takuya Kai hit a winning single against Edwin Jackson in the 10th inning and Japan beat the United States 7-6 on Monday to reach the Olympic semifinals.
Japan overcame a 6-5, ninth-inning deficit against McGough, a 31-year-old former Miami Marlins reliever with 16 saves in his third season with the Central League’s Yakult Swallows. He walked Seiya Suzuki with one out as rain started to fall, then allowed a single to Hideto Asamura that put runners at the corners.
Yanagita hit a chopper to second, driving in a run on the groundout.
The U.S. (2-1) fell into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination second round. To reach this weekend’s final, it must beat the winner of Tuesday’s elimination game between the Dominican Republic (1-2) and Israel (1-3), and then the Japan-South Korea loser.
Under tournament rules, extra innings start with runners on first and second base.
Ryoji Kuribayashi (1-0) retired the side in order in the top half. With Tyler Austin on second base and Triston Casas on first, American manager Mike Scioscia opted not to bunt. Todd Frazier then struck out, Eric Filia grounded into a fielder’s choice and Mark Kolozsvary flied out.
Jackson, a 37-year-old veteran of a record 14 MLB teams, including the A’s in 2018, relieved Scott McGough in the bottom of the inning. Pinch-hitter Ryoya Kurihara sacrificed and Scioscia went to the mound and the U.S. went to a five-man infield.
Kai, who had entered as a defensive replaced, lined the next pitch off the right-field wall.
A’s prospect Nick Allen went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the loss. For the tournament, he is 3-for-11, including a home run, with two runs and two RBI.
Japan (3-0) will play South Korea (3-1) on Wednesday night for a spot in the final.
Casas, a Boston Red Sox prospect, hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the fifth inning for a 6-3 lead after Frazier started a comeback from a 2-0 deficit with an RBI double off former New York Yankees teammate Masahiro Tanaka.
Host Japan, seeking its first baseball gold medal, chased Tampa Bay prospect Shane Baz in the third inning.
Tanaka, who returned to Japan this season after seven years in New York, left in a three-run fourth after Kolozsvary’s run-scoring single and a go-ahead single by Allen.
Hayato Sakamoto, the 2019 Central League MVP for the Yomiuri Giants, tied it 3-3 in the bottom half against former St. Louis pitcher Brandon Dickson with his second double, but the U.S. broke ahead in the fifth against right-hander Koyo Aoyagi.
Eddy Alvarez, the 2014 speedskating silver medalist turned baseball player, and Austin singled. That brought up Casas, a 21-year-old Double-A player and former first-round draft pick, whose go-ahead, two-run homer decided Saturday’s win over South Korea. He drove an outside 2-1 pitch to the opposite field for a 6-3 lead.
Japan pulled within a run in the bottom half against Anthony Carter when Suzuki, Japan’s 2019 Home Run Derby champion, crushed a leadoff homer, Asamura doubled and Ryosuke Kukichi hit a run-scoring infield single. Texas minor leaguer Ryder Ryan came in and escaped further damage.
Baseball is being played at the home of the Central League’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars, and while most games have taken place in a nearly empty 34,000-seat stadium, there were perhaps 150 media and volunteers in the seats for the high-profile matchup.
Baseball and softball returned to this year’s Olympics after a 13-year absence, with South Korea winning the last gold medal in baseball at the Beijing games in 2008. The only time the Americans have won gold in baseball was in 2000 in Sydney. The U.S. also won bronze in 2008 and in 1996 at the Atlanta games.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.