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Tuesday, September 26
U.S. shocks South Korea with dramatic homer


SYDNEY, Australia -- Doug Mientkiewicz triumphantly tossed his bat aside, thrust both arms into the air and started his incredible journey around the bases.

A terrible thought almost stopped him in his muddy tracks.

Mike Kincade
Mike Kinkade of the United States slides safely into third before South Korea third baseman Kim Dong-Joo makes the tag.

"I'll look like the world's biggest idiot if he catches it," he said to himself.

No way. There wasn't a right fielder in the world who could have stolen away the United States' best moment ever in Olympic baseball.

Mienkiewicz's drive sliced through the swirling rain and cleared the wall for a solo homer and a 3-2 victory early Wednesday (Tuesday night EDT) over South Korea, the same team he beat with a grand slam a week earlier.

"I hit it, I blew on it, I sneezed on it, I did everything I could because I wanted to go home and get out of these wet clothes," Mientkiewicz said.

The wettest and wackiest game in Olympic baseball history ended with a bunch of muddy Americans hugging Mientkiewicz at home. After a long night of dispute, downpour and delay, they were headed to their country's first gold medal game _ against archrival Cuba, no less.

Star-crossed South Korea will play Japan for the bronze medal before the Americans get their rematch against the only team that beat them in the preliminaries.

It came about on a cool, rainy night that had the feel -- and the finality -- of baseball in October.

"The emotion is very similar," said catcher Pat Borders, who won the World Series MVP with Toronto in 1992. "The difference is that the whole world is watching instead of just one country."

There was plenty of playoff-caliber controversy as well. The Americans' tying run in the seventh was set up by two umpires' blown calls on the same runner.

A thunderstorm halted play for two hours with one out and Brent Abernathy on third in the bottom of the eighth.

When the game resumed, the Americans loaded the bases with one out, but failed to score. Abernathy was called for interference after he flattened the catcher with a forearm in front of the plate as he tried to complete a home-to-first double play.

There was one more argument after Gookie Dawkins was picked off in the bottom of the ninth, but that only set up Mientkiewicz's latest game-winner.

Instead of trying to bunt Dawkins to second, Mientkiewicz got to swing away. He sent the next pitch over the wall.

"I can't describe it at all," said third baseman Mike Kinkade, slathered with mud on front and back. "It's unbelievable. That's baseball in a nutshell right there."

It was a bookend finish to the Americans' 4-0 victory over South Korea in the qualifying round last Wednesday. Mientkiewicz's two-out, eighth-inning grand slam turned that game.

Mientkiewicz also had a role in the United States' tying rally in the seventh inning Tuesday. Kinkade was tagged at first and third on separate plays and should have been out, but wound up scoring anyway to tie it at 2.

As he ran to first on his one-out bunt, Kinkade stepped on the first baseman's glove after he had taken the throw a stride in front of the base, knocking Kinkade off his feet.

Out? The Koreans thought so, but umpire Paul Begg of Australia hesitated a few seconds before halfheartedly calling Kinkade safe, touching off the first of several arguments.

"The play at first was a little close," Kinkade said, dodging the question of whether he was out. "I wouldn't want to make that call."

Mientkiewicz followed with a single through the hole at second, sending Kinkade chugging through the muddy infield toward third. He beat the throw with a headfirst slide, but slightly overslid the base while being tagged.

To Korea's dismay, umpire Humberto Castillo of Venezuela called him safe again. Marcus Jensen's sacrifice fly tied it.

It was that kind of a night.

Submarine-style pitcher Chong Tae-hyon, the only amateur on Korea's team, was in position for the win heading into the wild seventh.

U.S. coach Reggie Smith tried to get the Americans used to the seldom-seen delivery by throwing batting practice sidearm on Monday. Nice try, but it didn't work.

The United States didn't get a hit until the fourth, when Brad Wilkerson and John Cotton doubled for a run.

The Koreans managed a pair of third-inning runs off Roy Oswalt, a hard-throwing Double-A pitcher from the Houston Astros' organization.

Park Jin-man, a shortstop for the Hyundai Unicorns, hit an RBI double that smacked off the left-field wall, a foot shy of the top. Lee Byung-kyu, an outfielder for the LG Twins, also doubled for a 2-0 lead.



 

ALSO SEE
U.S.-South Korea box score




   
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