Francisco Lindor’s dominant first round of the World Baseball Classic reached its apex Wednesday night. But his Mets teammate wasn’t so lucky.
In a win-or-go-home game in Pool D against the Dominican Republic, Lindor used his bat — and legs — to circle the bases for Puerto Rico in something that looked reminiscent of a Little League homer in his team’s 5-2 victory.
Nevertheless, the team’s victory was spoiled as Edwin Diaz injured his right leg in the final celebration on the mound after he struck out the side.
The Mets closer was helped off the field and eventually taken down the tunnel in a wheelchair.
Lindor, who already with an RBI single in the second inning, lined a hard single to center against Yimi Garcia in the fifth inning, but that’s when the fun started.
But what looked like an ordinary hit quickly veered into the extraordinary when 2022 American League Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez misplayed the hop and let the ball roll all the way to the wall.
Lindor then turned on the jets and sped around the bases in just 15.70 seconds — according to MLB.com — and scored without a throw on the error to put his home country up 5-1.
According to MLB Pipeline’s Jacob Resnick, just three Mets since 2015 have recorded a faster home-to-first time than Lindor did in his trip around the bases against the Dominican Republic.
The 29-year-old flung his helmet and was mobbed at the plate by his teammates after what was officially scored as a single and three-base error.
Lindor, who bounced back after a rough 2021 with the Mets with a .788 OPS in 2022, finished the first round of the tournament batting out of the leadoff spot going 7-for-15 with a triple and five RBIs.
His heroics at the plate propelled Puerto Rico to a 3-1 record in pool play and lifted them into the quarterfinal round.
But it’s likely Lindor would have traded that moment to see his Mets teammate fully healthy for the upcoming season.
Puerto Rico will next play Mexico on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Miami’s loanDepot Park.
