The Dominican Republic was formidable. With the world’s best players performing with peak concentration, they showed just how fearsome they can be and handed Korea a mercy-rule loss.

On the 14th (Korea time) at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, the Korean national baseball team lost to the Dominican Republic 0-10 by the mercy rule in the seventh in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinal.

The first-inning duel ended 0-0. Korea’s batting order of Kim Do-young, Jahmai Jones, and Lee Jung-hoo went down in order against the overwhelming stuff of Cristopher Sanchez, last season’s National League Cy Young runner-up, but starter Ryu Hyun-jin also retired the side in order in the bottom of the first. After full-count battles with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ketel Marte, Ryu recorded a strikeout and an infield grounder, then got Juan Soto, the holder of the largest free-agent deal in MLB history (15 years, 765 million dollars), on a grounder to second.

The balance broke in the second. The Dominican Republic’s powerful lineup pieced together two walks and three hits in the bottom of the second to score three. With one out and a runner on first, Junior Caminero golfed a curveball that nearly hit the dirt and sent it rolling to the left-field wall for a double. Left fielder Jones got to the ball quickly, but shortstop Kim Joo-won’s throw home tailed wide. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slid home to open the scoring. In the meantime, Caminero advanced to third. Kim Joo-won’s throw home was a regretful miss.

After striking first, the Dominican Republic kept swinging without pause. Julio Rodriguez added a run with a grounder, and Tatis Jr. drove in the third with a single to right, knocking Ryu off the mound. Wearing the national team uniform for what might be his last time, Ryu finished at 1.2 innings, three hits, two walks, one strikeout, and three runs allowed on 40 pitches.

The Dominican Republic all but decided it with four more in the bottom of the third. Leadoff man Soto singled to center off Noh Kyung-eun and scored on a double by Guerrero Jr. The timing said out at the plate, but Soto twisted his body for a brilliant slide to elude the catcher’s tag. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun requested a video review, but the safe call stood. Soto’s exquisite slide filled the giant board at loanDepot Park, and Dominican fans erupted.

After Soto scored, Manny Machado lined an RBI single off new pitcher Park Young-hyun, and with the bases loaded, Tatis Jr. and Marte drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks off another new pitcher, Kwak Bin. Korea ran out four pitchers in that single third inningNoh Kyung-eun, Park Young-hyun, Kwak Bin, and Dane Dunningbut could not contain the Dominican lineup.

Through the seven runs in the bottom of the third, the Dominican hitters’ focus was remarkable. A lineup that had launched 13 homers in four group-round games scored seven without a home run. Because they were not just taking wild, max-effort swings, they were even scarier. During those seven runs, glaring mistake pitches from Korea’s staff did not particularly stand out; it was simply a gap in ability. They smoothly rode outside-edge pitches and dropped them into the holes, leaving no way to withstand the pressure. In a bases-loaded spot, table-setters Tatis Jr. and Marte calmly worked walks. Among MLB’s brightest stars, Guerrero Jr. and Soto scored with all-out headfirst slides at home.

After it stretched to 0-7 in the third, the game entered a lull. Go Young-pyo, Cho Byung-hyun, and Go Woo-seok combined to throw three scoreless innings from the fifth through the seventh.

But Korea’s bats could not find any thread for a comeback. Against starter Sanchez through five innings, they struck out eight times and were completely shut down. Bats of the top domestic hitters kept whiffing at the fierce movement of a sinker they had never seen. There were even moments of hitters leaning back from pitches coming through the heart of the zone. That is how powerful the movement was. Solid contact never came.

They found no answer against the Dominican Republic’s second pitcher, Albert Abreu, either. The top of the sixth ended in order, and in the top of the seventh, Lee Jung-hoo reached as the leadoff man on a defensive mistake, but with one out, Moon Bo-kyung grounded into a double play. Ketel Marte, an MLB All-Star second baseman, handled a 100-plus mph rocket with smooth footwork to turn two.

The tide had already turned, and the remaining goal became to avoid a mercy-rule defeat. The Dominican bats did not allow it. Facing So Hyeong-jun in the seventh, they put runners on first and second with one out via a hit and a walk. One swing would have ended it at 0-10 on the spot. So Hyeong-jun induced a grounder to short from Rodriguez, but they failed to turn the double play. A more assertive play by Kim Joo-won in the field was needed. Failing to finish the inning with a twin killing left the stadium in a peculiar hush. Pinch-hitting catcher Austin Wells turned on So Hyeong-jun’s first pitch, a 142㎞ cutter that rode hard in on the hands, and yanked it. Off the bat it was clearly gone, and the ball screamed over the right-field wall at loanDepot Park. With that, the first WBC quarterfinal for Korean baseball in 17 years was over.