Puerto Rico 201 010 104 9 13 1 Mexico 100 000 300 4 7 1
After their 11-0 blowout over Venezuela Puerto Rico also downed host Mexico 9-4 as the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic continued in Guadalajara. However it was a closer game as the final score might indicate.
Puerto Rico got into the driver’s seat with a two-run home run by Francisco Lindor in the top of the first. But Mexico answered right away with a RBI single by Brandon Laird to cut the deficit to 1-2. Nonetheless the host of the Jalisco first-round pool never evened the game. Instead Puerto Rico raised the advantage to 5-1 until midway through the seventh with a RBI single by Carlos Beltran, a sac fly by Carlos Correa and another home run by Lindor.
In the seventh Mexico rallied for three runs and raised hopes for a comeback. Laird, Efren Navarro and Chris Roberson scored. In the ninth Yadier Molina with a RBI single and Javier Baez with a three-run home run broke the close game wide open with four runs to seal Puerto Rico’s win.