Mexico downs Puerto Rico to attain semifinals of Globe Baseball Classic

Alden GonzalezESPN Staff Writer10:31 PM ET3 Minute Study

Mexico celebrates right away immediately after final K to eradicate Puerto Rico

Giovanny Gallegos freezes Enrique Hernandez to send Mexico into the semifinals to face Japan.

MIAMI — Trailing late against a star-studded Puerto Rico group, Mexico battled all the way back, stringing with each and every other a three-run seventh inning to steal a 5-4 victory in front of a sellout crowd at LoanDepot Park in Friday night’s quarterfinal.

Mexico sophisticated into the semifinals for the initial time in five Globe Baseball Classic appearances. It will face Japan in Monday’s semifinal.

Puerto Rico, playing in the wake of Edwin Diaz’s sobering knee injury, jumped out to a 4- lead in the initial inning against Mexican ace Julio Urias, acquiring back-to-back dwelling runs by Javier Baez and Eddie Rosario. But Puerto Rico did not muster considerably offense the rest of the way, and Mexico lastly bridged the gap even even though down to its final seven outs.

Alexis Diaz entered to his brother’s renowned stroll-out song, “Narco,” but proceeded to load the bases with none out, delivering up a double to Austin Barnes and back-to-back walks to Randy Arozarena and Alex Verdugo. Jorge Lopez came out of the bullpen to record two swift outs. But Isaac Paredes lined a two-run single to left field and Luis Urias dumped a base hit into shallow right, delivering Mexico its initial lead of the game.

Puerto Rico had a chance to tie it in the eighth, with a runner on initial and Emmanuel Rivera uncorking a deep drive to left-center field. Arozarena — the Pool C MVP who seemed to have his fingerprints all a lot more than each and every single game Mexico won in this tournament — raced into the gap and produced an improbable leaping catch up against the fence, awesome a Miami crowd that seemed to be largely in favor of Puerto Rico.

As the ball was becoming thrown back into the infield, Arozarena settled onto the warning track and stretched his arms out wide, his palms exposed and his mouth agape, an further signature pose from the Cuban-born outfielder who fell in appreciate with Mexico right away immediately after defecting there in 2016.