The 2017 World Baseball Classic features a little bit of everything. It was the men of Puerto Rico, who were ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning on Monday night at Dodger Stadium when Eddie Rosario’s sacrifice line drive to center field drove home Carlos Correa, who beat the throw to the plate to earn Puerto Rico a shot at its first Classic title on Wednesday.
“It means a lot, because Puerto Ricans have gone through a very difficult [economic] situation currently, and we were able to unite our country,” Correa said, “because of our blond hair and through baseball.”
Puerto Rico will now await the winner of the United States vs Japan matchup set for Tuesday night, and will play Wednesday for what it hopes to be its first Classic championship in four attempts.
“Tonight, they graduated,” Puerto Rico manager Edwin Rodriguez said of his young team he has. “Tonight, they do deserve to go where we’re headed, which is the final game, because they handled the basic fundamentals of baseball.”
Monday’s battle held 10 stuck innings, and in the 11th, new rules for the Classic went into effect in which runners were placed on first and second base at the beginning of the inning. After Puerto Rico’s closer Edwin Diaz got out of his jam with a double play to sea a dominant two-inning effort, Puerto Rico, which had Correa on second and Enrique Hernandez on first, were faced with Netherland’s reliever Loek Van Mil with a sacrifice bunt by Yadier Molina. Loek Van Mil then intentionally walked the next batter, Javier Baez, which loaded the bases for Rosario, whose line drive was deep enough to make sure the center fielder’s, Jurickson Profar, throw didn’t have a chance to get to Correa.
“The last [Classic in 2013], I wanted to play, but I was too young,” Correa said. “So undoubtedly, I am very happy with having the opportunity. So we are able to finish it on Wednesday.”