Bautista, Cabrera help Dominican Republic to Olympic win

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Miguel Cabrera knocked in the Dominican Republic’s only run in their 1-0 win over Mexico at the Olympics on Friday. Photo: Matt Slocum, Associated Press

July 30, 2021

Official WBSC News Release

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- World No. 4 USA won in its first Olympic baseball game since 2008 and world No. 7 Dominican Republic won its first Olympic contest since 1992 on Friday at Yokohama Stadium.

USA’s Tyler Austin went 3-for-5 with three extra-base hits and three RBIs, and the U.S. pitching staff struck out nine batters in an 8-1 victory over No. 24 Israel, which opened USA's Tokyo 2020 tournament.

U.S. starter Joe Ryan picked up the victory for his six innings of work. Brandon Dickson, Anthony Carter, and Ryder Ryan combined in relief to toss the final three innings, striking out four batters and allowing just two hits.

Austin spoke with the press about his big Olympic performance in USA’s opener:

"It was a special moment for me," Austin said. "I can still feel my heart beating. I've had a lot of moments to remember during my career, but this was a very special night, to say the least."

Ryan, who was traded Thursday from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Minnesota Twins organization, told reporters: "I will think about [the trade] once I'm on the plane back home. I'm here to win with this team and I'm fully dedicated to that.”

Dominican Republic shut out world No. 5 Mexico, 1-0, in Mexico’s first-ever Olympic baseball game. Former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Melky Cabrera broke a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning, with an RBI-single off Mexico starter Teddy Stankiewicz.

Another former MLB All-Star, left fielder José Bautista, preserved the Dominican Republic’s lead, throwing out Mexico’s Isaac Rodriguez at the plate in the top of the sixth.

"I was ready for the situation,” Bautista said, “I could anticipate the play a bit, and I was lucky the ball was hit hard, so it gave me the chance to make an accurate throw.

Dominican starter Angel Sanchez earned the win, throwing five innings of shut-out ball and allowing just two hits.

Sanchez said: "We are a great group. This is a short tournament, so we have to work day after day to improve."

Decisive Day 4 on Saturday

In key matchups that will close the group stage, Japan (1-0) will take on Mexico (0-1) on Saturday at 12:00 pm JST in Group A action, while Korea (1-0) and USA (1-0) will meet at 7 pm in Group B play.

Japan will send 23-year-old righthander Masato Morishita to the mound. Morishita pitches for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Mexico will counter with 31-year-old veteran Juan Oramas, whose professional club is the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican Baseball League (LMB).

Korea will start Young-pyo Ko, a 29-year-old right-hander in his fourth Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season with the KT Wiz. The US will hand the ball to former major leaguer Nick Martinez. The 30-year-old right-hander currently plays for NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

US National Team Manager Mike Scioscia said: "Korea is a terrific team, fundamentally sound. You have to play 27 outs against them, not allow anymore. They have some very good left-handed hitters, and we will need to make some good pitches. if you want to win at this level, you need to play exceptional baseball every day."

Former MLB superstar Adrian Gonzalez said: "We lost a one-run game today. But if we win tomorrow by two, we move to the next stage as the first-place team. So we control our own destiny, and that’s really what matters. Japan’s one-run win against the Dominican Republic shows that the three teams are at the same level. We’re very confident that tomorrow we’ll move forward."