MIAMI — A rousing 5-2 victory via Puerto Rico over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday earned the staff a place within the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. But the elation temporarily became depression when the megastar nearer Edwin Díaz crumbled to the bottom all through a postgame party at the mound.
Díaz’s teammates shaped a circle round him, striking their heads or crying. Instead of heading to the clubhouse at loanDepot Park to close up their luggage, Dominican avid gamers lingered within the dugout, shocked on the scene at the box. And when Díaz, 28, in any case stood up, he used to be first carried after which wheeled off the sphere, not able to place any weight on his proper leg.
Díaz, who signed a record-setting five-year, $102 million deal this low season to stay with the Mets, sustained a proper knee damage, the staff mentioned. He will go through imaging on Thursday, and the Mets added that they “will update when appropriate.”
The damage got here after a extremely expected do-or-die matchup between two baseball powerhouses, which had lived as much as expectancies. The groups performed in entrance of a thunderous sellout crowd of 36,025 folks, and Puerto Rico, the runners-up within the earlier two installments of the event in 2013 and ’17, knocked out the Dominican Republic, a staff of superstars that used to be one of the most favorites.
But Díaz’s cave in erased the ones feelings and renewed the damage issues that encompass the event, which is held each 4 years and lasts two weeks all through Major League Baseball’s spring coaching. It additionally could have dealt an enormous blow to the Mets, a staff this is coming into the 12 months with World Series aspirations.
“As excited as we were about the game and all that, it’s one of our brothers,” mentioned Puerto Rico heart fielder Enrique Hernández, a Boston Red Sox participant.
Several most sensible avid gamers, a lot of them pitchers, declined to take part within the W.B.C. or have been denied permission to play via their M.L.B. groups. Some cited damage issues — present or potential — as their explanation why. Teams incessantly concern that avid gamers need to ramp up previous than same old sooner than the 162-game common season to compete in video games that subject a lot more than spring coaching exhibition contests.
Díaz, then again, didn’t seem to harm himself whilst pitching on Wednesday. He fired his trademark 100-mile-per-hour fastballs and depraved sliders to strike out the facet within the 9th inning and didn’t seem to be in ache sooner than the party started.
After the overall out, Díaz hugged his brother, Alexis, a tumbler for the Cincinnati Reds. They have been joined via different teammates, and with their palms round every different, they bounced up and down in a somewhat tame party. But then Díaz collapsed to the bottom, and teammates signaled right away for the educational workforce to return out.
Off to the facet, Puerto Rico captain Francisco Lindor, a fellow Met, appeared on the floor whilst hunched over. Robinson Canó, the Dominican infielder and previous Met, held his palms on his head. Tears streamed down Díaz’s brother’s face.
Puerto Rico Manager Yadier Molina mentioned he didn’t see what came about to Díaz as a result of he used to be hugging his coaches within the dugout after the overall out. When he appeared up, he used to be shocked to peer Díaz at the floor.
“When you see a guy that works so hard like Edwin, when you see him on the ground like that, it just is sad,” he mentioned.
Molina added later about postgame celebrations, “If anything is going to happen, it will happen. Celebrations exist ever since I was born. It’s God’s will. I just hope that Edwin is going to be OK, that his family is OK and we are praying for him.”
Behind 8 pitchers, Puerto Rico neutralized a star-studded Dominican Republic offense and performed cleaner protection. At the plate, Puerto Rico designated hitter Christian Vázquez homered, whilst Hernández and Lindor every added two hits. With the win, Puerto Rico complex to the quarterfinals because the runner-up of Pool D and can face Mexico, which received Pool C, on Saturday in Miami.
In the tunnel out of doors the Puerto Rico clubhouse after the sport, Díaz’s brother and oldsters, in tears, have been escorted away.
“Aside from being the best closer in the game right now, and being a huge part of this team, Sugar is one of the glue guys in that clubhouse,” Hernández mentioned, relating to Díaz via his nickname. He famous that Díaz, who stored 32 video games for the Mets every of the previous two seasons, helped arrange dinners and gatherings for the Puerto Rican staff.
“He has a really big bank account, but his heart is way bigger,” Hernández mentioned, including later in regards to the damage, “The fact that it was him, it’s a big blow in more ways than one.”