America's national pastime took a major hit Sunday night. On home turf, no less.
Daisuke Matsuzaka remained undefeated in the World Baseball
Classic and defending champion Japan beat the United States 9-4 in
the semifinals at Dodger Stadium.
Japan advanced to Monday night's title game against South Korea,
a 10-2 winner over Venezuela in Saturday's semifinal. Japan won the
inaugural tournament in 2006, defeating Cuba in the final.
Akinori Iwamura's RBI triple was the key hit in a five-run
fourth inning, and the U.S. was handed its first loss to Japan
since the 2005 World Cup. The Americans had won four in a row,
including an 8-4 victory in the bronze medal game at the Beijing
Olympics.
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