The South Korean baseball team was routed 10-4 by the San Diego Padres in an exhibition game, Wednesday.
In its first test two days after arriving in Arizona, Korea, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool A winner, was answerless at both ends to the Padres, which finished last in the National League (NL) West division last season.
Five pitchers yielded 14 hits to the American side, which was second to last in batting average in the NL in 2008, while batters were held to three hits midway though the game.
South Korean starter Kim Kwang-hyun of the SK Wyverns still has not recovered from his worst outing, where he allowed eight runs in 1 1/3 innings to Japan in the first round, as the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) gave up three runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings.
Lotte Giants veteran Son Min-han, who did not pitch in the opening stage of the WBC, surrendered two hits and as many runs in 2/3 innings, and lefty Lee Seung-ho, the third hurler of the night, failed to get any batter out, giving up four runs with three hits and two walks.
The Korean offense was held hitless by Kevin Correia _ until Kim Hyun-soo hit a single up the middle in the fourth with two outs.
Correia, a non-roster invitee who went 3-8 with a 6.05 ERA with the San Francisco Giants last year, allowed one hit and walked one, while striking out five in four scoreless innings.
South Korea's late charge in the four-run eighth inning was the only silver lining for manager Kim In-sik.
After catcher Kang Min-ho led off the inning with a single off Ivan Nova's glove, Choi Jeong, Lee Taek-keun and Ko Yong-min hit three consecutive doubles, and Lee Dae-ho added an RBI single to make it 10-4.
Lee Dae-ho and Choi produced two hits, respectively, while Chase Headley and Brian Giles combined for five hits and six RBIs for San Diego.
Korea will play the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, in another tune-up match, where Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez is expected to make his spring debut.
Meanwhile, Japan rallied to beat San Francisco 6-4 in its first exhibition game in Arizona.
With a 4-2 score through the fifth inning, the reigning WBC champion scored four runs in the sixth.
Leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners went 1-for-3 with one run, while Yakult Swallows outfielder Norichika Aoki added three hits.