The Japanese Olympic Team used a four run ninth inning to break open a one run game and put the Japanese squad at 2-0 in the tourney. The Japanese squad was led by Hiroyuki Nakajima who went 2-3 with 2 RBI and a run scored. Cheng-Min Peng led the Taipei team by going 2-4 with a run scored. Read the rest of this entry »

FROM USA BASEBALL

Matt Laporta

BEIJING — Steven Strasburg (San Diego, Calif.) hurled seven scoreless innings and did not allow a hit until the seventh inning as the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team bounced back with a 7-0 victory over the Netherlands on Thursday afternoon at Wukesong Field 2. Read the rest of this entry »

Team USA is up 1-0 in the fourth inning against the Netherlands right now. Stephen Strasburg has been lights out in the first three innings. The webcast is available by clicking here.

UPDATE #1: Laporta hits a big home run as USA puts four runs on the board and Strasburg sends them down 1,2,3 as USA leads 5-0.

UPDATE #2: Strasburg has his perfect game broken up with a walk but has a no-hitter going. 5-0 after 5 innings.

UPDATE #3: Strasburg’s no hit bid is broken up in the seventh inning. Team USA is up 6-0 heading into the 8th inning.

UPDATE #4: Rain Delay in the 8th inning.

Alfredo Despaigne

The defending Olympic champion Cuba picked up a 4-2 victory over Japan to open up their 2008 Olympics. The Cuban team was led by Alfredo Despaigne who went 3-4 with three RBI while Alexei Bell went 2-4 with two RBI. Norge Luis Vera started the game where he went six innings allowing two runs and seven hits. Pedro Luis Lazo pitched the final three innings allowing two hits to pick up the save. Read the rest of this entry »

FROM USA BASEBALL RELEASE

BEIJING — Korea scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally and defeat Team USA, 8-7, in the Olympic opener on Wednesday evening at Wukesong Field 2.

Team USA had fought back with three runs of its own in the top of the ninth inning to take a one-run, lead but the Koreans mounted their own comeback, highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Jongwook Lee to earn the victory. The U.S. returns to action on Thursday morning to face the Netherlands with first pitch set for 10:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, EDT). Read the rest of this entry »

The USA Olympic Baseball team will be taking on South Korea at 6 am this morning while the Japanese squad will take on Cuba at 7 am. (All Times are Eastern). The video is available by clicking here and looking for the link to the live video streams is available somewhere on those pages.

The Chinese Taipei baseball squad opened up Olympic Play on Wednesday with a 5-0 victory over the Netherlands. They received a great start from Wei-Yan Chen who pitched seven shutout innings while only allowing three hits and striking out seven batters without allowing a run . Kai-Wen Cheng pitched the final two innings where he allowed one hit and a single walk. The offensive star for Taipei was rightfielder Chieh-Ming Chang who went two for three with two RBI on the evening. Read the rest of this entry »

Canada got a methodical 10-0 win in a game shortened to eight innings by the mercy rule.

Canada got all the runs they needed on a three-run home run by 1B Scott Thorman in the fourth inning. The required runs for the mercy rule came on a two-run home run in the eighth inning by RF Mike Saunders.

Chris Begg (Niagara), Tim Burton, and Rheal Cormier (CC of Rhode Island) combined for the shutout. The Chinese had a chance in the bottom of the eighth to break up the shutout and extend the game into the ninth inning; runners on second and third with no outs. However, Cormier, after giving up a double to the first batter he faced, got three straight strikeouts to end the game.

Canada’s next game is against Cuba, at 6 AM EDT on Thursday.

Update: Brooks McNiven (British Columbia) gets the start against Cuba. Mike Johnson will start against South Korea on Friday, and James Avery (Niagara) starts against the USA on Saturday.

The Olympic Baseball Tournament starts up this evening/early Saturday morning with a great game between Japan and Cuba that begins at 7 am Eastern time. The United States will open against South Korea, while the Canadian squad will play China, and Chinese Taipei will play the Netherlands. All the Games will be available online by clicking here. My brief preview of the Tournament is available below. I will be providing a daily recap of the day’s action throughout the tournament. Read the rest of this entry »

Article by Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network: Get to Know Team Canada

Excerpt: “Meet Mr. Average hitter for Team Canada: Emerson Frostad (Lewis-Clark State), 25, of Calgary Alta. A Texas Rangers farmhand, Frostad has split this season between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Oklahoma in the Texas Rangers system. He had played 486 games in five seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

USA Baseball Logo

The USA Olympic Team will begin play on Wednesday August 13th when they open up round robin play against South Korea. It will be the first game in the Olympics for Team USA since their Gold Medal victory over Cuba in the 2000 Olympics behind the right arm of Ben Sheets. We break down the position players today with some background information. We will be checking out the pitchers on Sunday as we continue our preview of Team USA. They open play on Tuesday when they play South Korea at 6 am Eastern time. Read the rest of this entry »

Article by Bob Elliott in the London Free Press: Big expectations are off Canada’s plate

The article focuses on Mike Saunders of the Mariners organization, who plays for the Tacoma Rainiers of the AAA Pacific Coast League.