Eddy Alvarez with two big hits as USA baseball beats Israel to open play in Tokyo Olympics
Second baseman Eddy Alvarez hit a pair of RBI doubles and scored twice as the United States defeated Israel 8-1 on Friday at Yokohama Baseball Stadium to begin group play at the Tokyo Olympics.
With a full count and two outs, Alvarez lifted a hanging breaking ball from Joey Wagman into left field that stayed fair to plate Nick Allen for the United States’ first run of the Olympics. Alvarez scored one pitch later when Tyler Austin homered to center field.
Alvarez struck again in the seventh, this time lining a double off Jonathan de Marte to right field to score Jamie Westbrook. Alvarez scored on the next at-bat when Austin hit a double of his own.
Plantation American Heritage alumnus and top Boston Red Sox prospect Triston Casas hit an RBI single in the ninth. Bubba Starling also had two RBI for the United States, driving in Todd Frazier with a sixth-inning single and Eric Filia with an eighth-inning groundout.
Alvarez, a Miami native who graduated from Christopher Columbus High and is an infielder in the Miami Marlins organization, is looking to become just the sixth athlete all-time to earn an Olympic medal in both the Summer and Winter Games. He has a silver medal in short-track speed skating from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Former Miami Hurricanes standout Danny Valencia hit a solo home run for Israel in the fourth inning to avoid the shutout.
The United States finishes its two-game group play schedule against South Korea, with first pitch set for 6 a.m. Saturday. South Korea defeated Israel 6-5 in extra innings on Thursday. Group play records will determine the initial matchups for the modified double-elimination knockout round of the tournament, which begins on Sunday and continues until the medal games on Aug. 7.
Host Japan, the Dominican Republic and Mexico are the three teams comprising the other group to complete the six-team field.
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