ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Alex Rodriguez came through with the winning hit for the United States after Japan appeared to get the short end of a controversial call.

Rodriguez hit a bases-loaded, two-out single in the ninth Sunday to give Team USA a 4-3 victory in the opener of Round 2 in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.

Vernon Wells opened the ninth with his third hit, and Randy Winn sacrificed, but reached first when second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka drew an error for coming off the base while catching third baseman Akinori Iwamura’s throw.

Loser Kyuji Fujikawa threw out Wells at third on Michael Young’s attempted sacrifice, and Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Ken Griffey struck out before Rodriguez appeared to be jammed on a 1-1 pitch, but his grounder got past Fujikawa and Nishioka’s sliding attempt behind second was unsuccessful. The run was unearned because of Nishioka’s error. Rodriguez went 2-for-5, making him 7-of-14 in the Classic.

Japan appeared to take a 4-3 lead off Joe Nathan in the eighth when Iwamura flied to left with one out and the bases loaded. Nishioka beat Winn’s throw home, but umpire Neil Poulton ruled Nishioka left the base before the catch was made. It didn’t seem that way on the television replay, and manager Sadaharu Oh argued to no avail.

Japan loaded the bases in the ninth on three walks before winner Brad Lidge, Team USA’s sixth pitcher, struck out Hiyoshi Tamura to end the inning. The fans began a “USA! USA!” chant for the first time in the game with one out and one on in the sixth, and Derrek Lee responded a few pitches later by homering to tie the game 3-3.

Shimizu was called twice for going to his mouth while on the mound – an automatic ball – shortly before Lee connected. The first came before a 2-1 pitch to Chipper Jones, who walked, and the second prior to the first pitch to Lee.

Ichiro Suzuki, not known for his power, hit Jake Peavy’s third pitch of the game into the right-field bleachers to give Japan a 1-0 lead.

Japan made it 3-0 in the second on a two-out, two-run single by Munenori Kawasaki, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup. Jones led off the bottom half by hitting a 3-1 pitch from Koji Uehara into the right-center field seats for his second WBC homer, making it 3-1.

Peavy, who worked three scoreless innings in Team USA’s 2-0 first-round victory over Mexico, gave up three runs and five hits in five innings. He used 67 pitches and settled down after a rocky start, retiring nine of his last 10 batters.

Uehara allowed seven hits and one run in five innings, using 75 pitches. The pitch count is up to 80 from 65 in the first round.

The Americans threatened in the first when Young reached base on second baseman Nishioka’s throwing error, and Jeter beat out a bunt. But Uehara threw a called third strike past Griffey and Rodriguez grounded into a double play.

Young, who had three hits, singled to start the third, but Jeter grounded into a double play. Griffey and Rodriguez followed with singles and moved up on a wild pitch before Jones grounded to first.

Brian Fuentes pitched out of a two-out, two-on jam in the seventh by retiring Suzuki on a grounder to second, and Yasuhiko Yabuta fanned Rodriguez with a runner at third and two outs in the bottom of the inning.

Japan robbed the Americans of at least three hits, with first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and third baseman Iwamura diving to keep grounders in the infield, and shortstop Kawasaki making an over-the-shoulder catch of a blooper hit by Griffey.

Dontrelle Willis will start Monday night when Team USA faces South Korea, and Roger Clemens is scheduled to pitch Thursday for the Americans against Mexico.

The WBC semifinals will be played Saturday in San Diego, where the winners will meet for the championship of the inaugural Classic two days later.

AP-ES-03-12-06 1935EST