Five Japanese pitchers combined for a six-hit shutout on Saturday as the hosts beat the United States 2-0, securing the first Olympic baseball gold medal for a nation that eats and breathes the sport.
Third baseman Munetaka Murakami gave top-ranked Japan the only run it would need, with a third-inning homer off losing pitcher Nick Martinez.
He limited Japan to just that run in six effective innings. The hosts added an insurance run in the eighth to seal victory at the gold medal match in Yokohama.
The U.S. squad, filled with minor leaguers and free agents, put runners into scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but failed to bring any home.
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Saturday’s victory sees Japan rule both Olympic diamonds, after the hosts defeated the American women last month for softball gold. They also enjoyed an earlier win over Team USA in baseball on Monday.
Baseball had last been contested on the Olympic stage in 2008 before it, along with softball, was brought back at the insistence of yakyuu-loving Japan.
Despite its love affair with America’s pastime, Samurai Japan hadn’t been a member of the relatively exclusive club of baseball gold medalists: U.S. (2000), Cuba (1992, 1996, 2004) and South Korea (2008).
The American loss denied U.S. third baseman Todd Frazier an incredibly rare diamond double.
Frazier led fellow youngsters from Toms River, New Jersey, to the Little League World Series title in 1998.
The tournament’s end will send second baseman Eddy Alvarez home with a silver, which he can place in the trophy case alongside his speedskating silver from 2014.
The 31-year-old Miami native and son of Cuban immigrants, Alvarez is now one of just three Americans to ever medal in both the Winter and Summer Olympics.
The previous two double-winning Americans were Eddie Eagan, a 1920 boxing gold medalist and 1932 four-man bobsled champ, and Lauryn Williams, who captured 2012 gold in the 4×100 relay and then 2014 silver in the two-woman bobsled.
This silver-medal-winning U.S. side was composed of minor leaguers allowed to play in the Olympics by their parent clubs and veteran free agents looking to catch the eye of an MLB team. Team USA was one of the last teams to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
With the Olympics happening at the same time as the multibillion-dollar domestic baseball season, MLB has not stopped the season or allowed the game’s best players to participate in these quadrennial games.
By contrast, the National Hockey League has regularly interrupted its season to allow the world’s best players to compete at the Olympics. The league recently announced its 2021-22 schedule, which includes a break for the winter games.
The U.S. also won gold in men’s basketball early Saturday, with Kevin Durant leading a star-studded squad to its fourth-straight Olympic title shortly after the end of the NBA season.