Olympics-US baseball team clinches slot in Tokyo

REUTERS: The United States baseball team won a spot in the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Venezuela 4-2 on Saturday and securing the best record in the Americas qualifier tournament.

Team USA will join reigning champion South Korea, Japan and underdogs Israel and Mexico in the Olympics. A final spot will be up for grabs among the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia and Netherlands during a tournament June 22-26 in Puebla, Mexico.

Former New York Mets infielder Todd Frazier notched four hits for the United States on Saturday, scoring two runs and driving in two.

Baseball is returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2008. Organizers voted it and softball off the regular program but brought them back temporarily for Tokyo, where the sports are beloved.

(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)