Japan's win jeopardizes US

Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed one hit in five shutout innings and Japan beat Mexico, 6-1, last night in Anaheim, Calif., in the second round of the World Baseball Classic, putting the United States in danger of being eliminated before it plays again.

South Korea (2-0) can earn a berth in the semis by beating Japan (1-1) today. If that happens, the US (1-1) would also make it by beating Mexico (0-2) tomorrow.

But if Japan beats South Korea, the Americans could be eliminated from contention even before playing Mexico. That would happen if Japan wins in a nine-inning game and scores seven runs or fewer because of the complicated tiebreaker system being employed.

The semifinals will be played Saturday and the final Monday.

Dominican Republic 2, Venezuela 1 -- Daniel Cabrera threw four hitless innings and the Dominican Republic one-hit Venezuela in San Juan to advance to the semifinals.

Cabrera struck out seven as the elimination game in Group 2 turned into a classic pitchers duel, with the go-ahead run scoring on a passed ball by catcher Ramon Hernandez in the sixth. Francisco Liriano, Miguel Batista, and Salomon Torres followed Cabrera, and Duaner Sanchez pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings to earn a save.

Pirates reliever Dámaso Marte, roughed up in the Dominican Republic's loss to Puerto Rico Sunday, traveled to Pittsburgh to have his right shoulder examined.