Yokohama — Just as Japan defeated Mexico 7-4 on Saturday, the United States took a day off by beating South Korea 4-2 before the Tokyo Olympics baseball quarterfinals.
Both teams are currently transitioning to double elimination play. South Korea will play against the Dominican Republic on Sunday and the United States will play against Japan on Monday.
Triston Casas, a prospect for the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball, hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to win a 2-1 US lead. In the next inning, shortstop Nick Allen’s solo shot and single trio were 4-1.
US starting pitcher Nick Martinez allowed a run and shot nine shots, but watching a Korean league match while stuck at home during the blockade of COVID-19 led to his good performance. He said.
Neither side recorded a hit in 6 to 8 innings. For the ninth time, David Robertson, who is close to the United States, ran on a sacrifice fly. A short-lived cheer was raised among the Korean players who bowed their heads together.
All four US runs were billed to South Korean starter Ko Young-pyo.
“The most important thing is to leave today’s match,” said South Korean coach Kim Kyung-moon.
Elimination game
With Japan’s victory, Mexico was eliminated in a match against newcomer to the Olympics, Israel.
“Everyone knew this was coming,” said Mexican coach Benji Gil. “The only thing that has changed is to do it in Game 3 instead of going further in Game 4 or 5.”
Nobuto Morishita, the fourth best pitcher in the ERA of Nippon Professional Baseball this year, finished with 5 hits and 2 runs in 5 innings.
“I feel like a new player, a new person,” said the 23-year-old overcame tensions on his biggest stage.
In the 4th inning, Tetsuto Yamada fired 3 runs in the left fielder’s 1st row, raising Japan 5 to 1, and teammate Hayato Sakamoto sent a fastball to the left fielder’s 4th row after 2 innings to lead.
Yamada acknowledged his success against Mexican pitchers by studying footage of the previous game.
Mexico, which closed the gap with a two-run home run in the eighth inning, relied on pitchers from the domestic professional league. They handed over four stolen bases to Japan, and the fielder made two mistakes.
Japanese coach Atsunori Inaba said he needed to motivate players who were tired of heat later in the match. After the first three days of light rain in the tournament, temperatures soared above 32 degrees Celsius.
Palais Dave