Japan edges U.S. for gold
Host earns top honor on diamond
Japan’s players sprinted ontothe mound and the collection of All-Stars hoisted their manager up and down as if on atrampoline.
They beamed when hanging shiny gold medals around eachother’s necks, fullfilling a nationalmission with the first Olympic baseball title in their history.
American players didn’t seem overly upset. The released veterans, prospects and career minor leaguers thought theyhadgiventheirbest.
“Ireally feel like we left it all out there,” pitcher Nick Martinez said after Japan eeked out enough runs to win Saturday night’s gold-medal game, 2-0.
Munetaka Murakami, at 21 the youngest player in Japan’s starting lineup, hit an opposite-field homer over the 16-foot wall in left-center field on a 2-2 pitch from Martinez (1-1) in the third. Martinez winced as the ball landed in the fourth row of the empty blueseats.
MasatoMorishita (2-0), a 23year-oldright-hander, gave up three hits over five innings, struck out five and walked none.
Leap of faith
Sweden defeated Jessica Springsteen and the U.S. jumpingteam in a jump-off for the gold medal. Bruce Springsteen’s daughter and teammates Laura Kraut and McLain Ward each moved cleanlythrough the shortened jump-off course and did so with a combined time of 124.2 seconds. Peder Fredricson, the final Swedish rider, needed to circle the track in 40.30 seconds or better withouterror and cruised to a time of 39.01 for the country’s record fourth gold medal but firstsince 1924.
Dominant dives
Cao Yuan outdueled his teammate to win the men’s 10meter platform title, giving China gold medals in seven of the eight diving events at the Tokyo Olympics. He became thefirst diver to win gold medals in three different Olympic events. The only event the Chinese didn’t win was men’s platform synchro, where they finished second. China swept the four women’s events. Chinafinished 1-2 in all four of theindividual events.