Puerto Rico Knocks Off Panama In 2026 World Baseball Classic Thanks To Walk-Off Home Run From Darell Hernáiz

San Juan had every reason to panic. Down 2-1 heading into the late innings, Puerto Rico looked like they were about to drop a stunner on their own turf against Panama. The crowd was nervous. The bats were quiet. And Panama Starting Pitcher Ariel Jurado? He was making it look easy. Then everything flipped.

Puerto Rico Refuses To Lose At Home

For most of the game, Panama controlled the tempo. Jurado was flat-out dealing, throwing five shutout innings and allowing just 3 hits with no walks and 4 strikeouts. Puerto Rico had one hit going into the fifth inning. One. At home. In a World Baseball Classic game. The kind of performance that makes a home crowd go eerily silent.

Panama broke through first. Jonathan Arauz got hit by a pitch, Christian Bethancourt drove him home with a double, then advanced to third on a Puerto Rico throwing error, and Luis Castillo immediately made it 2-0 with a double of his own. Panama was playing clean, confident baseball and had every reason to believe they were pulling off the upset.

Puerto Rico finally scratched back in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases with nobody out, Nolan Arenado delivered a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1. It wasn’t pretty. But it kept the crowd in it.

Then came the ninth. Panama reliever Alberto Baldonado walked the bases loaded, and then walked Willi Castro to force in the tying run. Severino Gonzalez came in and escaped further damage on his very first pitch. Ballgame tied. Extras it is.

Darell Hernaiz Delivers the Walk-Off Puerto Rico Needed

Panama came right back in the 10th. Castillo moved Bethancourt to second on a sac bunt, and Jose Caballero came through with a clutch RBI single to put Panama back on top 3-2. For the second time in the game, Puerto Rico was staring at a deficit. For the second time, they refused to fold.

Darell Hernaiz stepped up. He launched one to deep left field off Gonzalez, and just like that, ballgame over. Puerto Rico wins 4-3. The crowd in San Juan absolutely lost it. Hernaiz finished 2-for-5 on the night. Not bad for the guy who just sent thousands of fans home with their hearts still racing.

WBC History

It’s worth noting the wild historical footnote attached to this game. There have now been two walk-off home runs in World Baseball Classic history, and both happened on the same day. Earlier, the Netherlands’ Ozzie Albies hit the first ever. Hernaiz hit the second a few hours later. March 7, 2026, is going to live in WBC trivia forever.

Puerto Rico moves to 2-0 and faces Cuba on March 9. Panama drops to a tough spot and takes on Canada next.