Puerto Rico rallies to beat Panama on Hernaiz's 10th-inning HR
Darell Hernaiz homered off Severino González to cap a two-run 10th inning as Puerto Rico twice rallied late at San Juan to beat Panama 4-3 and improve to 2-0 in Group A.
Willi Castro tied the score at 2-2 on a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk against Alberto Baldonado with two outs in the ninth.
José Caballero hit a go-ahead single off Jose Espada in the top of the 10th, then was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Carlos Cortes for the final out of the inning when he tried to score on Leonardo Bernal's single.
Puerto Rico tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom half when Cortes grounded into a run-scoring double play. Hernaiz drove a fastball to left, dropping Panama to 0-2.
IT'S GONE!
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 8, 2026
PUERTO RICO WINS!
DARELL HERNAIZ, WALK-OFF HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/L2kIDmzi5N
Panama had gone ahead 2-0 in the fifth on RBI doubles by Christian Bethancourt and Luis Castillo.
Nolan Arenado trimmed the lead with a bases-loaded, sixth-inning sacrifice fly against Javy Guerra. After playing for the U.S. in 2017 and 2023, Arenado switched this time to Puerto Rico — where his mother is from.
THIS IS EPIC ‼️
— MLB (@MLB) March 8, 2026
Team Puerto Rico will never forget this 🇵🇷 pic.twitter.com/fJ452h7Xlk