YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - The United States will face Japan in the dispute for the gold medal of the baseball tournament inSuch 2020, after defeating South Korea, the last Olympic champion, 7-2 on Thursday.
Baseball had not been called to the Olympics for 13 years after being absent from the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.
The title game will feature, for the first time, the participation of the two most populous countries that play baseball.
South Korea's Thursday defeat now puts them in thedispute for the bronze medal against the Dominican Republic team.
The medal matches will be played on Saturday. The bronze match will begin at 0300 GMT and the gold match at 1000 GMT.
The winning pitcher on Thursday was American reliever Ryder Ryan, who threw one and two-thirds innings without allowing any runs or hits. The loser was South Korean starter Euilee Lee.
The Dominican Republic will depend on left-hander Raúl Valdés in their quest for bronze against South Korea. A victory for the Dominicans would represent the first Olympic medal in baseball for the Caribbean nation.
Cuba won three Olympic gold medals in baseball, in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004; and two silver, in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008. But for Tokyo 2020 he disappointed his supporters by not qualifying in a competition held in June, in Florida, United States.
Reporting by Paresh Dave, Additional reporting by Junko Fujita. Edited by Nelson Acosta REUTERS NAB/.
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