YOKOHAMA (Japan) -- The Japanese All-Stars achieved a strong national mission to win an Olympic gold medal in baseball. They defeated the United States 2-0 on Saturday night, thanks to Munetaka Murakami’s third-inning home run.Masato Morishita, four relievers, combined for a six-hitter. The Japanese men (5-0), matched the achievement of the women's team in softball, which defeated the Americans to win its second consecutive gold medal.Several hundred spectators, who looked like Olympic volunteers, cheered Japan at the 34,000-capacity Yokohama Stadium. Some were wearing orange Japan jerseys and matching masks during the hot and humid night.America, which introduced baseball to Japan in 1872 was ranked 4-2. Major League Baseball and its clubs denied teams access to all 40-man roster player and many eligible top prospects, thereby limiting the U.S.A. and other countries with top players in MLB.Murakami is 21 years old and Japan's youngest player. He was also a two-time All-Star in four seasons of the Central League's Yakult Swallows. Martinez groaned when he drove the ball over the left-center 16-foot wall and into the fourth row of empty seats.Japan scored an unearned run in eighth when Masataka Yamada singled out reliever Scott McGough. Center fielder Jack Lopez also threw the ball past the plate, causing Tetsuto to score. After rallying in the ninth, the Japanese defeated the U.S. 7-6 in 10 innings Monday.Morishita (2-0), a right-hander from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, is the reigning Central League rookie of the year. He held the U.S. down to just three hits in five innings and struck out five.Kodai Senga (a 28-year old right-hander from the Pacific League's Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, was viewed as a potential future MLB pitcher and followed up with a 98 mph heat for the sixth.Hiromi Itoh pitched seventh, and Tyler Austin was given the leadoff hit in eighth.Suguru Iwazaki (a 30-year-old lefty from the Central League's Hanshin Tigers), relieved and struck out Boston prospect Triston casas. Todd Frazier retired on a popup, and Eric Filia was forced to ground into a forceout.Ryoji Kuribayashi (25-year-old, first-time All-Star from Hiroshima), finished with a perfect ninth for the third save. He gave up a single to Nick Allen and then retired Lopez via forceout.The mound was filled with Japanese players, while the bullpen relievers ran in. At one point, manager Atsunori Inaba had his head lifted by players and was thrown onto the mound like a trampoline. The third base line was also where players lined up and bow to their fans.Martinez, a former Texas right-hander, was 31 years old and pitched in Japan for his fourth season. He allowed five hits in six innings, with seven strikeouts, one walk, and only one run.Mike Scioscia, former Los Angeles Angels manager, was unsuccessful in his bid to match the feat of Tommy Lasorda (los Angeles Dodgers manager), who led the U.S to a gold medal in baseball in 2000.Frazier was unable to add gold to the Little League World Series title that he won in 1998 with Toms River East American, New Jersey.Eddy Alvarez, second baseman, was the sixth American athlete to win medals at both the Winter and Summer Games. However, he did not achieve gold and did not match the silver he won as a speedskater in 2014.Only six times was baseball played in the Olympics, the first time since 2008. This was at Japan's request. It was dropped for the 2024 Paris Games, but could be returned for 2028 in Los Angeles or 2032 in Brisbane in Australia.Japan suspended its major league season on July 17, and allowed top players to gather for the Olympics. MLB executives laughed at the idea of sending top MLB players to the Olympics. They claimed it was impossible and economically uneconomic to stop the season. Many GMs rejected the idea of exposing players to injury in any other game than the one that pays their checks.Although the Japanese team was missing MLB stars Shohei Oktani and Yu Darvish it had enough power to beat twice the U.S. roster. The result was a mixed bag of Double-A prospects, major league veterans, and career minor leaguers.The U.S. began a lineup with a 2.9 career WAR, except for Frazier, who was 25.2. Martinez (2.1), Austin (1.0) and Alvarez (0.2).Alvarez struck an inning-ending groundout in the fifth with two out. Jamie Westbrook flew out in the sixth with two out and then grounded out, leaving a runner on the second in the seventh.
