The United States’ quest for its first Olympic baseball gold medal since the 2000 Sydney Games began Friday night with an 8-1 win over Israel at Yokohama Stadium. The U.S., managed by Mike Scioscia, will face South Korea on Saturday. Israel, the lowest-ranked team in the six-team field, dropped to 0-2 in Group A play after dropping its Olympic debut to South Korea on Thursday. It will face Group A’s third-place team — Japan, the Dominican Republic or Mexico — in an elimination game Sunday. Otherwise, the 25-year-old Ryan held an Israel lineup that compiled three home runs Thursday against South Korea silent over six innings.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 30, 2021 14:47 UTC