Baseball, softball facts and highlights

FIVE STORY LINES: BASEBALL

1 China's first team: Intent on avoiding being embarrassed on its home turf, the Chinese reached out to Major League Baseball for help. Former big league player and manager Jim Lefebvre was dispatched to help develop the sport there. He also helped pick the team, which includes three prospects on minor league rosters. China's first game is next Wednesday. It will play the United States on Aug. 18.

2 The tiebreaker rule: Each team's at-bat in the 11th inning and beyond will begin with runners on first and second base. Teams can start the 11th at any point in their batting order.

3 The last stand? Baseball and softball are both knocked out of the box from international competition after the Beijing Games. Officials are working hard to get the sports sanctioned again.

4 Will Cuba rise again? Cuba won gold in 2004 and is considered a powerhouse, but the Cubans have suffered losses to both Japan and the United States in the past couple of years.

5 Japan's go-for-broke strategy: The Japanese team is made up entirely of players from the country's professional leagues, making Japan a top contender for the gold.

Yu Darvish, Japan

Stephen Strasburg, USA

The team's youngest player (20) and its only collegian, the 6-4, 220-pound San Diego State pitcher struck out 23 in a game earlier this year.

Brett Lawrie, Canada

The Brewers' No. 1 pick in June's MLB draft, he's being heralded as the best Canadian-born player since Larry Walker.

Lauren Bay-Regula, Canada

Melanie Roche, Australia

Roche, 37, is appearing in her fourth Olympics and pitched Australia to a silver medal in 2004, going 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA.

Jessica Mendoza, USA

A four-time All-America at Stanford, the Team USA outfielder was USA Softball Player of the Year in 2006.