Carlos Beltran and Felipe Lopez each had a home run in Puerto Rico's crushing 11-1 win over an All Star-studded United States team in a World Baseball Classic second round match stopped early Saturday because of the mercy rule. Javier Vazquez (2-0) allowed one run in five innings for Puerto Rico, which remained unbeaten through four games. Ivan Rodriguez, playing in Miami for the first time since he helped the Marlins win the 2003 World Series, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI to hike his WBC batting average to .600 (9-for-15). The game ended in the seventh inning because of the tournament's 10-run rule, under which a game is ended once one team takes a 10-run lead. Puerto Rico advances to a winner's bracket game Monday against Venezuela, which beat the Netherlands 3-1 in the first game Saturday. “Everybody is embarrassed,” shortstop Derek Jeter said. “But 2-1 or 11-1, we're still in the same position. You can't sit around and hang your head too long.” US pitcher Jake Peavy lasted only two innings, in which he gave up six runs. Venezuela 3, Netherlands 1: Miguel Cabrera and Jose Lopez each had solo home runs to power Venezuela over the Netherlands.
