The two-time silver medal winner is out. Mexico came back and beat Puerto Rico 5-4 this Friday to advance, for the first time in its history, to the semifinals of the World Classic.
The Puerto Ricans went ahead with four runs in the first inning with homers by Javier Báez and Eddie Rosario against star Julio Urías. It looked like they were going to stage a fest of bats and get an easy victory, but no.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lefty rallied and allowed no further concessions in the next three innings. Javier Assad (2.2), JoJo Romero (0.2), Jake Sánchez (0.2) and Giovanny Gallegos (1.0) emulated his dominance and completely silenced Puerto Rico.
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Meanwhile, the Mexican offensive responded slowly.
They scored in the second with a solo home run by Isaac Paredes and added another in the fifth with a single by Alex Verdugo.
They sentenced with a cluster of three in the seventh. A single by Paredes, with bases loaded and two outs, tied the score and another hit by Luis Urías made the difference.
Paredes was the best of the Aztec offense, finishing 3-2 with three RBIs and one scored, while Urías -the hero of the day- went 4-2 with an RBI.
JoJo Romero (2-0) got the win and Gallegos got the save. Alexis Díaz (0-1) charged with the setback.
Mexico will now face the fearsome Japan for a ticket to the Grand Final.
