Posted at 6:48 a.m., Sunday, November 11, 2007
Baseball: United States rolls to 12-2 victory over Spain
Advertiser Staff
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Andy LaRoche hit two two-run homers, powering the U.S. team to a 12-2 win today over Spain at the Baseball World Cup.Team USA, managed by Davey Johnson, advanced under the seven-inning mercy rule. The U.S. leads Group A with a 4-1 record.
LaRoche, a third-base prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers, homered in the first and seventh inning. He also drove in four runs in the 7-0 victory against Panama on Thursday.
LaRoche made his major league debut this season, hitting .226 with a homer, five doubles and 10 RBIs in 93 at-bats. He also drew 20 walks and had a .365 on-base percentage.
In other Group A play, Italy shutout South Africa 8-0, Mexico defeated Taiwan 9-5 and Japan beat Panama 6-2.
In Group B, Cuba crushed Venezuela 10-0 for the fifth straight win to lead the group. Australia beat Korea 2-1, Canada overpowered the Netherlands 7-1 and Germany blanked Thailand 2-0.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.
