Group A of the baseball tournament in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will feature an intriguing matchup between the Dominican Republic and the host, Japan this Tuesday. Will the Dominican Republic stun Masahiro Tanaka and company? Or will Japan be too much to handle for the Jose Bautista-led Dominicans?
There are familiar names up and down the roster of the Dominican Republic, especially for Major League Baseball fans. Perhaps no one’s more famous on the team than the hard-hitting Jose Bautista, who last played in the majors in 2018 for the Philadelphia Phillies. Bautista is now 40, but he should still be a threat at the plate, considering that the Olympics doesn’t have the strongest of pitchers compared to the majors. Also on the team is former MLB All-Star Melky Cabrera, who owns a.285 batting average in the majors along with 144 home runs in his 15 years in the big leagues. The Dominican Republic’s pitching staff is not considered a force, so the pressure is on the team’s hitters to carry the load of this team. If anything, a couple of Dominican Republic pitchers are currently signed under the Yomiuri Giants, so familiarity with the surroundings would be the least of their worries. The Dominican Republic has odds of +900 to win the gold in men’s baseball in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Japan is out to win the gold medal right at home in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, though this team has always been a force regardless of location. The face of the team will be ace pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who is best known for his seven seasons with the New York Yankees. Tanaka went 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA in his years wearing the Yankees pinstripes. He’s now playing professional back home for the Rakuten Golden Eagles and this year, he has a 4-5 record with a 2.86 ERA. Apart from Tanaka, Japan’s pitching staff also boasts of Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri Giants) and Koyo Aoyagi (Hanshin Tigers). The offense should do well in the Olympics as well, with infielders like Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri Giants) and Sosuke Genda (Saitama Seibu Lions). Japan is the favorite to win the gold with odds of +115 to do it.
