MIAMI — It should have been a routine single — a play that, on this day, would still have been more than enough to bring life to the crowd.
But when Francisco Lindor’s fifth-inning line drive hopped past Julio Rodriguez and to the center-field wall at Miami’s loanDepot park, it became so much more.
Lindor rounded second and got to third by the time the ball was thrown back into the infield. When Ketel Marte bobbled the ball just beyond the second-base bag, Lindor scampered his way the final 90 feet home, sliding head first and throwing his helmet into the air as his teammates ran out of the dugout to celebrate with its captain.
There would be a lot more celebrating four innings later when Puerto Rico finished off its 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday in front of an announced crowd of 36,025 to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic.
Puerto Rico, which has finished as the runner-up at each of the past two Classics, joins Venezuela as the two teams from Pool D advancing to the quarterfinals, which will take place Friday and Saturday at loanDepot park. Venezuela won the pool by going a perfect 4-0.
It was a matchup and an atmosphere that truly lived up to the hype.
The opponents on their own made it a marquee event. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have one of the best baseball rivalries in the Caribbean.
The stakes only magnified the outing.
Both teams entered the final game of pool play with 2-1 records, each having lost to Venezuela earlier in the tournament.
The winner would advance out of pool play and into the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. The loser’s time in the tournament would come to an end, right there.
But by the third inning the game became a one-sided affair.
Christian Vazquez opened scoring with a home run off a middle-middle Johnny Cueto fastball. The crowd broke into a frenzy as the ball sailed into the home team bullpen in left field. One fan was even caught on video lifting what appeared to be a chair into the air while celebrating.
The rally and the celebration continued as Viamel Machin and Martin Maldonado hit back-to-back singles — Maldonado’s coming on a bunt — to chase Cueto from the mound. Both scored on two more singles, this time from Lindor and Kike Hernandez against Bryan Abreu. An RBI groundout from MJ Melendez, a Miami Westminster Christian alumnus, capped scoring in the inning.
Now, the Dominican Republic had its chances, but Puerto Rico kept them at bay.
Juan Soto responded to the four-run third inning with a 448-foot leadoff home run off Jovani Moran to straightaway center in the bottom half of the inning. The Dominican Republic couldn’t muster anything else.
In the fifth, the DR had the bases loaded and no outs. They scored just one run when Manny Machado grounded into a double play.
Eloy Jimenez led off the sixth with a double and Jeimer Candelario hit a two-out single but both were stranded.
Puerto Rico pitchers Jorge Lopez, Duane Underwood Jr. and Edwin Diaz then closed out the game with three perfect innings.
