Puerto Rico stifles Cuba, celebrates return to quarters in front of home fans

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Ask any baseball fan in Puerto Rico and they’ll tell you about the 2006 World Baseball Classic game against Cuba. How they lost in a crushing 4-3 defeat to the international superpower. How it was the loudest they’d ever heard Hiram Bithorn Stadium. How they’ve been waiting, patiently waiting, for a shot at revenge.

Well, on Monday night, 20 years later, they finally got some.

In a matchup of unbeatens in Pool A, Team Puerto Rico emerged with a 4-1 win over Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic on Monday night in San Juan, clinching Puerto Rico’s spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

With the victory, Puerto Rico improved to 3-0 in this year’s Classic, and Cuba dropped to 2-1, still in position to also eventually advance to the next round with a win over Canada on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET, FS2). Pool A teams reaching the quarterfinals will play in Houston against the teams that advance from Pool B.

Fans had to wait 20 years, yes, but they also had to wait more than an hour during a long rain delay at the start. No delay could cool the passion and excitement the island’s fans have brought to Hiram Bithorn all week, though. And they had something to get loud about almost right away.

Team Puerto Rico loaded the bases in the second inning with one out. Up to the plate came 39-year-old fan favorite Martín Maldonado. The pride of Naguabo. The longtime newly retired MLB catcher who had a big pinch-hit single to start a rally in Saturday night’s comeback against Panama.

And on the very first pitch, he delivered.

“Understand that we need to give credit to the batters before me who had good at-bats and they were able to run the bases,” Maldonado said postgame. “I was able to get the hit. MJ [Melendez], who was walked, he had a tough at-bat. What we wanted was not to do too much and pass the baton to the next guy.”

That’s pretty much all the run support Puerto Rico would need.

Elmer Rodríguez, the Yankees' No. 3 prospect, answered the call in his start -- striking out three over three scoreless. A string of four Puerto Rico relievers gave up just an unearned run over the next six frames.

That run came on an Alfredo Despaigne double that Heliot Ramos made a bad throw on in center field. Despaigne didn’t get the RBI -- he’s still two away from tying all-time leader Frederich Cepeda in that category -- but he is now second all-time in Classic extra-base hits with 12. He moves ahead of Jorge Cantu and Miguel Cabrera and is three behind Cepeda’s 15.

The host team added another run on a Carlos Cortes sacrifice fly in the fifth and that, finally, was really all they needed because the baseball-rich island does have one of the best closers in baseball.

Edwin Díaz retired the side in order, fittingly striking out 44-year-old Alexei Ramirez -- the oldest player to ever appear in a World Baseball Classic game. Ramirez was on that team way back in 2006 that beat Puerto Rico. Revenge, indeed.

“I feel really proud because it's my first time playing back home. It's important” Díaz said. “We know one thing we have, and we have a really good team. We play really good defense. So I feel really good. I feel happy to be here for the first time.”

And manager Yadier Molina couldn’t have been more proud of his players this week.

“As a young team, these players, they don't take anything for granted,” Molina said. “They love to learn every day. We've have some veterans, and they care about the young guys. They're good listeners, they play hard, and I trust them. They play real well. We have a really good group. It's a young core, and I'm happy for that.

Puerto Rico will take on Canada on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on Tubi. If they win, they’ll move to 4-0 and clinch the No. 1 seed from Pool A.