Baseball World Cup Pool G, Macerata:
USA – Japan 4-2
JPN 000 000 011 2 9 0 USA 003 000 10X 4 4 1
It wasn’t as pretty as the high-scoring games before, but Team USA stayed undefeated in the second round of the 2009 Baseball World Cup after holding down Japan 4-2. Justin Smoak and Terry Tiffee put the Americans up in front 3-0 in the third with homeruns. A RBI double by Trevor Plouffe extended the lead to four runs in the seventh.
Japan tried to make things interesting in the end, as Ikuhiro Kiyota and Go Yamaoka cut the deficit in a half with RBI doubles in the eighth and ninth. But closer Nate Field induced Kenji Suzuki to fly out to right, sealing the victory.
Brad Lincoln (W 1-0) started for the second time in the tournament and allowed just one run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out five. He also was solid in the opener against Venezuela last Thursday in Regensburg. Hiroyuki Kamegawa (L 0-1) took the loss, surrendering three hits, three runs and three bb in 2 2/3 innings.