After a rain delay and extra innings, Darell Hernaiz sealed Puerto Rico’s victory over Panama with the second walk-off home run of the day in the WBC. Al Bello / Getty Images
March 7, 2026Updated 10:50 pm EST
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Boos turned to raucous cheers at Hiram Bithorn Stadium when Puerto Rico shortstop Darell Hernaiz smashed a waist-high heater 374 feet to the left-field corner for a two-out homer that lifted his team to a 4-3 walk-off victory over Panama on Saturday night.
In the 20-year history of the World Baseball Classic, no player had hit a walk-off homer before Saturday, when Ozzie Albies became the first to do so for the Netherlands in Miami.
Puerto Rico had just challenged a double-play call on Carlos Cortes’ grounder to short that scored the tying run.
Having traded zeros with Panama almost all night and gone 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, Puerto Rico forced extras by loading the bases before Willi Castro drew a four-pitch walk to tie the game at 2-2 in the ninth.
What a scene pic.twitter.com/x09pisbvhW
— Maria Torres (@maria_torres3) March 8, 2026
This story will be updated.
Mar 8, 2026
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