SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rican fans swayed and sang along to Marc Anthony’s “Preciosa” in the stands of Hiram Bithorn Stadium – a beautiful rendition of a song expressing a person’s undying love for the island. A sort of second national anthem, as many Puerto Ricans will tell you.
And there may not be many other times in sports history that Puerto Ricans have loved their island more than after their heartstopping, 10-inning, 4-3 walk-off victory over Panama on Saturday night. The result was the second walk-off homer in World Baseball Classic history – and the second of the day. Earlier Saturday, Ozzie Albies clinched the Netherlands’ win over Nicaragua with a three-run homer in the ninth inning at loanDepot park in Miami.
Puerto Rico’s winner came off the bat of an infielder who said after the game, “I’m not a guy to take it out of the park.”
“It's something that's truly unforgettable,” Darell Hernaiz said. “I blacked out, I don't remember anything. I just remember that I hit the ball into the field.”
With the win, Puerto Rico improved to 2-0 in the tournament, while Panama fell to 0-2 and will now be eliminated from advancing with one more loss.
For much of the game, it didn’t look like Yadier Molina’s Puerto Rico team would get enough runs across to win.
Panama took an early 2-0 lead in the fifth inning on RBI doubles by Christian Bethancourt and Luis Castillo. And Ariel Jurado shut down P.R. for five innings, outpitching Eduardo Rivera, who was great as well, giving up just a run on one hit over 4 1/3 frames.
Team Rubio then had a couple chances: One was when it loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth. Nolan Arenado hit a sacrifice fly to center field for a run, but Puerto Rico couldn’t score any more. They similarly threatened in the seventh with runners on the corners and two outs, but Matthew Lugo struck out swinging against Kenny Hernandez.
But then, the ninth inning came. And the 18,925 fans at Hiram Bithorn seemed to rise and writhe and know this was when it had to happen. It had to be dramatic.
Trailing, 2-1, entering the bottom of the ninth, Puerto Rico got a one-out walk from Eddie Rosario before Martín Maldonado singled to right. One out later, Lugo walked to load the bases for Willi Castro, who drew another walk to force in the tying run.
Beer flew in the stands, the home team was back in it.
Then, Panama went back ahead on a José Caballero RBI single in the top of the 10th. Why wait until the ninth to win it when you can wait until the 10th?
Puerto Rico answered again with a game-tying forceout after Carlos Cortes grounded into a double play. And then Hernaiz, the 24-year-old A’s shortstop who had the tall task of replacing island hero Francisco Lindor on the team, stepped up to the dish.
And, well, now he’s a hero himself.
The A's infielder, with just three career homers, capped the victory with a no-doubt dinger to left off Severino González.
“It's an unbelievable experience,” Hernaiz said, not able to wipe the smile off his face. “Thank you to Yadi for trusting me and keeping me in the game. He could have subbed me out at any point, and he trusted me to hit. I wouldn't be mad at him if he took me out. I'm just glad that I could give back to all Puerto Rico.”
Was Yadi ready to take Hernaiz out?
“You see what he did tonight?” Molina laughed. “You know what, we spend a lot of time studying our guys to prepare ourselves as a team. We have the talent, and we have a group of guys that cares. He's one of those guys that cares about the team, and he's here for a reason.”
So, an historic win, and one that seemed like it may not be attainable for much of the game – or maybe the fans sticking around to sing Marc Anthony’s dedication to Puerto Rico always knew it would be. It’s also a big victory in pool play, giving Puerto Rico two wins through two games and a solid chance at advancement. Molina put it simply.
“We're so happy with these guys. We did the hard work. It wasn't easy. Panama played way too good. Credit to them. Obviously, these guys put up a fight, and with the last inning of the night, we celebrated.”