Have Mercy!

It’s a good thing they put the mercy rule into the WBC because if they hadn’t, the U.S. would probably still be hitting. Fired up from their defeat at the hands of Canada, the U.S. squad demolished South Africa 17-0 in a game that was shortened to five innings. Ken Griffey exploded for two homers and seven RBI’s while Roger Clemens gave up 1 hit while striking out six over 4 1/3 innings.

The win moves the U.S. team into the second round of the WBC. They are now in a group with Japan, Korea and Mexico playing in Anaheim. The other pool consists of Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals. The next round begins tomorrow and lasts until Thursday.

Photo by Eric Risberg/AP via MLB.com