USA baseball schedule: How to watch every 2021 Olympic team game from Tokyo

Joe Rivera

USA baseball schedule: How to watch every 2021 Olympic team game from Tokyo image

Team USA is looking for a home run of Olympic proportions.

The United States is actually unfamiliar to gold in the Olympic games: In five inclusions in the Olympics since baseball was first held as a sport in 1992, the US has just one gold medal resting on the mantle. They've medaled three times overall in five games, with two bronze medals in the trophy case alongside the gold.

With Olympic baseball taking a backseat in the last two Olympiads, hardball is back with six entrants and fun tournament starting on July 27. The group stage will lead the tournament, with the knockout stage seeding determined by how group play finishes up.

Here's how you can catch the 2021 Olympic baseball team:

MORE: Watch the Olympics live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

How to watch USA Olympic baseball

  • TV channels:  USA, CNBC
  • Live stream:  NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports app, fuboTV

At the outset of the tournament, most Team USA games are not scheduled to   be broadcast over cable networks. Only a select few games during the baseball tournament will be aired on cable TV, on the USA Network and CNBC.

The majority of games will be able to be streamed on the NBCOlympics.com website, the NBC Sports app, and for select games, fuboTV, which offers a 7-day free trial.

Team USA will take the field twice during group play. Group play determines seedings for the knockout stage.

—  Friday, July 30 : The United States takes on Israel in a group-play matchup (6 a.m. ET on NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports app).

—  Saturday, July 31:  Team USA faces off against South Korea, their second and final group-play matchup (6 a.m. ET on USA Network, NBCOlympics.com).

After group play, the United States will advance to the knockout stage. The schedule for the knockout stage is as follows, and TV channels are subject to change:

Game No. Date Matchup Start time (ET) Result
1 Saturday, July 31 Mexico vs. Israel 11 p.m. Israel, 12-5 (MEX eliminated)
2 Sunday, Aug. 1 Dominican Republic vs. Republic of Korea 6 a.m. Korea, 4-3
3 Sunday, Aug. 1 Israel vs. Republic of Korea 11 p.m. Korea, 11-1
4 Monday, Aug. 2 United States vs. Japan 6 a.m. Japan, 7-6 (10)
5 Tuesday, Aug. 3 Israel vs. Dominican Republic 6 a.m. DR, 7-6 (ISR eliminated)
6 Tuesday, Aug. 3 Dominican Republic vs. United States 11 p.m. USA 3, DR 1
7 Wednesday, Aug. 4 Republic of Korea vs. Japan 6 a.m. Japan 5, Korea 2
8 Thursday, Aug. 5 United States vs. Republic of Korea 6 a.m. TBD
9 Friday, Aug. 6 Dominican Republic vs. TBD 11 p.m. TBD
10 Saturday, Aug. 7 Japan vs. TBD 6 a.m. TBD

*The gold medal game will air tape-delayed on USA Network.

USA Olympic baseball roster

The 24-man roster is managed by former Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia:

Pos. Name Team Club
INF Nick Allen Athletics Midland (AA)
INF Eddy Alvarez Marlins Jacksonville (AAA)
OF Tyler Austin Nippon Professional Baseball Yokohama DeNA BayStars
RHP Shane Baz Rays Durham (AAA)
RHP Anthony Carter Mexican League Saraperos de Saltillo
INF Triston Casas Red Sox Portland (AA)
RHP Brandon Dickson Cardinals Memphis (AAA)
C Tim Federowicz Dodgers Oklahoma City (AAA)
OF Eric Filia Mariners Tacoma (AAA)
INF Todd Frazier Free Agent
LHP Anthony Gose Indians Columbus (AAA)
RHP Edwin Jackson Free Agent
LHP Scott Kazmir Giants Sacramento (AAA)
OF/INF Patrick Kivlehan Padres El Paso (AAA)
C Mark Kolozsvary Reds Chattanooga (AA)
UTL Jack Lopez Red Sox Worcester (AAA)
RHP Nick Martinez Nippon Professional Baseball Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
RHP Scott McGough Nippon Professional Baseball Tokyo Yakult Swallows
RHP David Robertson Free Agent
RHP Joe Ryan Rays Durham (AAA)
RHP Ryder Ryan Rangers Round Rock (AAA)
OF Bubba Starling Royals Omaha (AAA)
INF/OF Jamie Westbrook Brewers Nashville (AAA)
RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson Blue Jays New Hampshire (AA)

How does the Olympic baseball tournament work?

Olympic baseball this year works a bit different than it has in years past:

Qualifying

In all, six teams qualified for a chance at a gold medal this year:

—  Japan  qualified for being the host nation.

—  Israel  qualified as the winner of the Asia/Europe qualifying event in 2019.

— At the 2019 WBSC Premier12,  South Korea  and  Mexico  both qualified. 

— Earlier in 2021, the  United States  qualified in an Americas qualifying event.

— At the final qualifying event in 2021, the  Dominican Republic  earned an Olympic bid.

Tournament

The actual Olympic tournament is a little bit more complicated than its softball counterpart. Here's how it breaks down:

Group stage

The six teams will be divided into two groups: Group A (Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic) and Group B (the U.S., Israel and South Korea). Teams in their groups will play each others once, for six games total.

Knockout stage

In the first three games, the teams in opposing groups will play one another based on seeding from group play (A1 vs. B1, A2 vs. B2, A3 vs. B3). The loser of the A3 vs. B3 game is eliminated from the tournament.

Otherwise, teams play one another in a double-elimination tournament until there is one team left from the winners and losers bracket. Those two teams will play one another in the gold-medal game. The last two teams eliminated in the losers bracket will play in the bronze-medal game. There will be 10 total games played in the knockout stage (include bronze- and gold-medal games) for 16 games overall.

Olympic-baseball-tournament-Screenshot

Olympic baseball 2021 schedule

There are 16 games total in the Olympic baseball tournament. We don't know the knockout stage matchups yet, but we know when the games will be played:

Group stage

Date Group Matchup Start time (ET) Channel/stream
Tuesday, July 27 A Dominican Republic vs. Japan 11 p.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
Thursday, July 29 B Israel vs. South Korea 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
Thursday, July 29 A Mexico vs. Dominican Republic 11 p.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
Friday, July 30 B United States vs. Israel 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
Friday, July 30 A Japan vs. Mexico 11 p.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
Saturday, July 31 B South Korea vs. United States 6 a.m. USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, fuboTV

Knockout stage

Game No. Date Matchup Start time (ET) Channel/stream
1 Saturday, July 31 Israel vs. Mexico 11 p.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
2 Sunday, Aug. 1 Dominican Republic vs. Republic of Korea 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
3 Sunday, Aug. 1 Israel vs. Republic of Korea 11 p.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
4 Monday, Aug. 2 United States vs. Japan 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
5 Tuesday, Aug. 3 Israel vs. Dominican Republic 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
6 Tuesday, Aug. 3 Dominican Republic vs. United States 11 p.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
7 Wednesday, Aug. 4 Japan vs. Republic of Korea 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
8 Thursday, Aug. 5 United States vs. Korea 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com
9 Friday, Aug. 6 Dominican Republic vs. TBD 11 p.m. CNBC, NBCOlympics.com, fuboTV
10 Saturday, Aug. 7 Japan vs. TBD 6 a.m. NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com*

*The gold medal game will air tape-delayed on USA Network.

Joe Rivera