Korea made sure that the 2008 Olympic Baseball tournament got off to a memorable start, defeating the United States 8-7 in a thrilling contest, while there were also opening day wins for Cuba, Chinese Taipei and Canada. 

The Koreans entered the tournament as an outside shot for the gold medal and their victory over the U.S. will do wonders for their self belief.  It wasn’t simply the fact that they won the game that will boost their confidence, but also the manner in which they did so.  Leading 6-4 heading into the ninth inning, Korea succumbed to a U.S. onslaught and found themselves trailing 7-6 when coming up to bat in the bottom of the inning.  Facing Jeff Stevens, a twenty-four year old pitcher who is a member of the Indians’ Triple-A team, the Koreans regrouped and plated two runs to walk off as victors by a final score of 8-7.  Korea really couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to their tournament.  The U.S. will be bitterly disappointed that they were unable to hold their hard-earned lead, but they will still be confident of winning enough of their remaining six preliminary round games to qualify for the semi-finals.

The big match-up of the opening day saw Cuba defeating Japan 4-2.  The Cubans took a 1-0 lead in the second and were always able to stay one step ahead from then on.  The Japanese team drew level twice, but Cuba instantly regained their lead both times.  Japan’s starting pitcher, Yu Darvish, was a little wayward in walking four batters over 4.2 innings, while Cuba received a solid start from Norge Vera and three strong innings from Pedro Lazo.

It was a disappointing start for the Dutch as they were shutout by Chinese Taipei in a 5-0 loss.  Wie-Yin Chen gave up just three hits over seven innings while striking out seven and the Netherlands didn’t have any more luck against reliever Kai-Wen Cheng, who gave up two hits and one walk over two innings.  With no run support, the Dutch pitching staff did their best to keep things close.  David Bergman, who pitched brilliantly against Great Britain in the European Baseball Championships last September, conceded four runs (one unearned) over 3.1 innings.  Rob Cordemans and Dave Draijer pitched well in relief, but with the Dutch bats falling silent, their efforts were not rewarded.

Meanwhile, China suffered a ‘mercy killing’ loss at the hands of Canada.  Many thought the Chinese might struggle in the tournament and the U.S., Cuba, Japan and Korea will all expect to make short work of the host nation after this comfortable win by a solid rather than spectacular Canadian team.  The game was called after eight innings with the Canadians leading by a score of 10-0.  Chris Begg, who pitches for the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A team, struck out nine over 6.1 innings of work while the Atlanta Braves (prior to his minor league demotion) batter Scott Thorman delivered the biggest blow to the Chinese: a three-run blast in the fourth inning.

Day Two preview

It gets no easier for China as they will face Korea on day two.  The same could be said for the Netherlands, who will be fearing a backlash from a U.S. team determined to make amends for their opening day defeat.  The Chinese Taipei-Japan game should be an intriguing battle, particularly as the latter will be desperate to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole.  Finally, Canada will be only too aware that beating China 10-0 doesn’t immediately make them contenders for a medal.  A win against Cuba certainly would.

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