Canada crushed in final Olympic baseball tune-up

Mike Hessman hit two of four home runs for the U.S. Monday night, and the Americans capped their stateside preparations for Beijing by scoring nine runs in the fifth inning of a 17-5 exhibition rout of Canada in a game shortened to seven innings.

Matt LaPorta homered for the third time in the four-game series, and Terry Tiffee drove in three runs and also connected for the second straight game for the U.S., which scored in each inning and took the final three games of the four-game Olympic tune-up in  Durham, N.C.

Canada won the opener in 10 innings.

Monday's game was called after the seventh because of the 10-run rule in international play.

But the teams scrimmaged for an additional — unofficial — inning to squeeze in some extra work before leaving the continent.

Hessman finished with three RBIs, and his two-run homer off reliever Jonathan Lockwood keyed the Americans' huge fifth.

He added a solo shot an inning later to continue breaking open a game marred by the ejections of Canadian manager Terry Puhl and pitcher Steve Green in the fourth for arguing a call at first.

The Americans hit 11 homers during the series and outscored Canada 33-8 in the final three games.

Both teams travel to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and depart from there to Beijing.

Mike Saunders had a two-run double and Emmanuel Garcia homered for the Canadians, who twice closed within one run — the last time coming on a bizarre sequence involving Garcia's bunt in the fourth that scored Stubby Clapp and left both managers furious.