Hoping to make its stamp on baseball's return to the Olympics, Team USA defeated regional powerhouse Dominican Republic on Wednesday and earned a spot in the semifinal.
The U.S. cruised to a 3-1 win thanks to home runs from Red Sox Double-A first baseman Triston Casas and Tyler Austin in his home ballpark in Yokohama.
In his first appearance since a July 18 exhibition, Giants pitcher Scott Kazmir shut down a Dominican lineup that featured former MLB All-Stars José Bautista and Melky Cabrera with five scoreless innings,.
Team USA's only loss of the tournament came to Japan in the second round of the knockout stage.