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Olympics: Japan falls 5-3 to S. Korea for 2nd loss in baseball
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BEIJING, Aug. 16 (00:35) Kyodo
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Japan fell 5-3 to South Korea in a dramatic showdown between
baseball archrivals in the Beijing Olympic preliminaries Saturday to
suffer its second loss in four games in the round-robin stage.
Going into the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie, Japan closer Hitoki
Iwase gave up three runs on three hits and a walk, while his
teammates managed to score only one run in the bottom frame despite
having had would-be game-tying runners on second and third bases with
no outs at one point.
In a game that started out as a pitchers' duel at Wukesong
Baseball Field, Japanese cleanup hitter Takahiro Arai opened the
scoring with a two-run homer in the sixth, but South Korean
designated hitter Lee Dae Ho immediately retaliated with a two-run
clout off Tsuyoshi Wada in the next inning.
''I didn't switch (Wada) when he yielded a walk with no outs,''
said Japanese team manager Senichi Hoshino, looking back on the
seventh inning when his starter walked the first batter up and then
gave up the homer to Lee who was next in the lineup.
''It is completely my mistake today,'' Hoshino said. ''I'm sure
the players are frustrated, but I myself am frustrated with my
mistake.''
Hoshino, who is seeking to bring home Japan's first Olympic gold
medal in baseball, described the 2-2 record as ''the worst line''
considering the ability of the Japanese squad but expressed hope of
bouncing back in the remaining three games in the preliminary round.
In other preliminary-round action, three-time champion Cuba
defeated Taiwan 1-0 to collect its fourth straight win, the United
States came from behind to edge Canada 5-4 and the Netherlands beat
China 6-4 to pick up its first win. |
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