Surprising Koreans put U.S. back on the ropes

~ South Korea won the second-round game 7-3.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The poor play of the United States was all too clear to Mark Teixeira.

"We could have hit better, we could have fielded better, we could have pitched better," the first baseman said. "But they just beat us."

The 7-3 loss to South Korea on Monday night left the Americans in precarious shape again at the World Baseball Classic. They routed South Africa 17-0 to advance to Round 2, and now almost surely need to defeat 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."

Hee-Seop Choi's three-run homer off Dan Wheeler in the fourth inning was the key blow for South Korea, the tournament's only unbeaten team.

"Something happened today which nobody could believe," South Korean manager In Sik Kim said. "But not just because it's the USA team, but it's the best of all the best major league players. It's very difficult to believe what happened. But this is baseball. You never know what might happen."

Before an announced crowd of 21,288 at Angel Stadium, the U.S. received another poor performance from starter Dontrelle Willis and failed to deliver timely hitting. Shoddy fielding made things only worse.

"We definitely could have played better," said Teixeira, who went hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts. "Anytime you lose, there are things you could have done better."

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. The top two teams will meet Saturday in the semifinals 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.

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," U.S. manager Buck Martinez said. "We hit some balls hard. They made quality pitches when they had to."

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 into the right-field corner that 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.

"Lee has been red hot in this tournament," Martinez said. "I just felt like it was the best move. I felt like we would take our chances."

Choi hit three homers in a game against Minnesota last season.

"This is different -- it's for my own country," he said through a translator. "And we were able to beat the U.S., which is the best team in the world."

Team USA's problems began with Willis.

"I just had bad rhythm today," he said. "I think I was very composed out there. I had a great game plan, I just didn't execute. I'm just not playing the best baseball I can possibly play. My confidence is still up."

Martinez hasn't lost faith in the Florida Marlins left-hander.

"I don't think there's a man in that clubhouse who doesn't want to give the ball to Dontrelle Willis," Martinez said. "It's just a matter of giving him one more chance. We're going to do everything we can to give him the ball."

Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. had three hits each. Griffey drove in two runs with a homer in the third off winner Min Han Son and an RBI single in the ninth, when the Americans scored their final two runs.

"Now we have two days off before we play again," Martinez said. "Certainly having the game in hand and now our record is 1-1 with the prospects of Roger Clemens going against Mexico on Thursday, it's a pretty good situation."