Japan beat U.S to win baseball gold as IOC decision pays off

Munetaka Murakami struck a home run to help Japan beat the U.S 2-0 and clinch the 2020 Olympic Games’ baseball gold medal on Saturday.

The Japanese women also triumphed in the softball last week at the Tokyo Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had brought both sports back especially for Tokyo, given huge Japanese interest.

The decision paid dividends with the host nation dominating —— even without fans in the stands in Yokohama.

Japan’s Murakami cleared the fence at the bottom of the third to give Japan the lead and they scored again in the eighth for a first baseball gold.

U.S player Eddy Alvarez became just the sixth person to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

He also won a silver medal in the 5,000 metre short track speed-skating relay at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

In a contrasting game to the tight final, the Dominican Republic earlier beat South Korea 10-6 for the bronze medal.