Hard to swallow
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Team USA has its back to the wall.
Again.
Taking nothing away from South Korea, the Americans only blamed themselves for being in their present dilemma.
Hee-Seop Choi's three-run homer off Dan Wheeler in the fourth inning was the key blow Monday night as South Korea beat the United States 7-3 before an announced crowd of 21,288 at Angel Stadium to remain the only unbeaten team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Team USA received another poor performance from starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis and a lack of timely hitting. They threw in some shoddy fielding as well.
"We definitely could have played better," said first baseman Mark Teixeira, who went hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts. "Anytime you lose, there are things you could have done better.
"We could have hit better, we could have fielded better, we could have pitched better. But they just beat us."
South Korea (2-0) will play its final game of Round 2 against Japan on Wednesday night. Japan (0-1) will face Mexico (0-1) on Tuesday, and Team USA (1-1) will play Mexico on Thursday in other Round 2 action. The top two teams will meet Saturday in the semifinals at Petco Park in San Diego.
Willis allowed four hits, four walks and three runs in three innings. He gave up five hits and six runs in 2 2-3 innings in an 8-6 loss to Canada last week that dropped the Americans to 1-1 in Round 1.
Team USA beat South Africa 17-0 to advance to Round 2, and now almost surely needs to beat Mexico — a much stronger opponent than South Africa — for a trip to the semifinals.
"Another one of those sit around and figure out the scenarios. That's about all you can say," Derek Jeter said. "We had our chances right from the first inning. We just didn't get any hits with guys on base. I'm well aware of what it takes to win. We just didn't do it."
The Americans put the first two runners on base in the first, fourth and fifth innings, but came up empty each time.
"They pitched very effectively to the heart of our order," Team USA manager Buck Martinez said. "We hit some balls hard. They made quality pitches when they had to."
Besides everything else, what seemed to be a logical bit of strategy by Martinez backfired.
South Korea led 3-1 when Min Jae Kim, who had three hits, doubled with two outs in the fourth. Seung Yeop Lee was walked intentionally before Choi hit a towering fly ball into the right-field corner that barely eluded Vernon Wells, landing just fair and in the second row, making it 6-1.
Lee put South Korea ahead for good by hitting his WBC-leading fifth homer off Willis in the first. Lee came to the plate in the fourth with seven hits in 15 at-bats, seven runs and 10 RBIs in the Classic, making the decision to walk him seem reasonable.
But Choi, a Los Angeles Dodgers' reserve pinch-hitting for Tae Kyun Kim, spoiled the strategy.
