South Korea will battle the Dominican Republic, featuring a Major League Baseball All-Star caliber lineup, for a World Baseball Classic semifinal berth at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, on March 14 (Korea time). Having written a miraculous finish in the first round in Japan with a score that perfectly fit the tiebreaker scenarios, Korea aims to ride that momentum to topple the Dominican powerhouse.
However, given the realistic gap in firepower, a tough battle is expected. Since this is a single-elimination tournament rather than pool play, one might assume there would be no mercy rule.
That assumption would be wrong. According to foreign media outlets including Sports Illustrated and The Athletic, the mercy rule remains in effect through the quarterfinals. The rule is eliminated starting from the semifinals.
Under tournament regulations, a mercy rule is invoked when the score differential reaches 15 runs or more after five innings, or 10 runs or more after seven innings. The Dominican Republic, which advanced to the quarterfinals with four consecutive victories in Pool D, defeated the Netherlands 12-1 in a seven-inning mercy rule victory on March 9 at loanDepot Park, powered by four home runs.