Baseball: Japan to play Dominican Republic in Tokyo Olympics opener

Japan will face the Dominican Republic in the opening game at the Tokyo Olympics, the World Baseball Softball Confederation said Monday as it announced the schedule for the six-team games competition. Samurai Japan, ranked first in the world ranking, will face the seventh-ranked Dominican Republic at Fukushima Azuma stadium on July 28 before taking on fifth-ranked Mexico three days later at Yokohama baseball stadium in Group A. Group B features third-ranked South Korea as well as the United States, ranked fourth, and Israel, 24th. The knockout stage follows between Aug. 1 and 4 in a double-eli...