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Team USA baseball, including former Arizona Diamondback Jamie Westbrook, sweeps Israel 8-1

Westbrook, who was born in Gilbert and grew up in Chandler, scored one of the runs at the Tokyo Olympic match after Eddy Alvarez hit a double to right field.

TOKYO, Japan — Gilbert native and former Arizona Diamondback Jamie Westbrook helped Team USA sweep Team Israel in the Tokyo Olympics early Friday morning.

Westbrook, who was born in Gilbert and grew up in Chandler, scored one of the runs in the Olympic game after teammate Eddy Alvarez hit a double into right field. 

Westbrook is a career .283 hitter in the minors with over 800 games played. 

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The team will face a difficult next opponent in the Olympic tournament when they take on South Korea. There has been a history of back and forth between the rivals going back to 1996. 

Credit: AP
United States' Jamie Westbrook reacts after scoring on a double by Eddy Alvarez in the sevenths inning of a baseball game against Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Yokohama, Japan. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Team USA beat South Korea at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games but lost to the team in the most recent games at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 2008 Olympics.

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Westbrook has a lengthy history with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was drafted by the team back in 2013 during the fifth round. He played as a shortstop, a second baseman, and a left fielder up until 2019. 

Westbrook then joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization in Jan. 2020.

He committed to play collegiate baseball at Pepperdine University before signing with the Diamondbacks, according to Team USA.

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