MIAMI — A rousing 5-2 victory by Puerto Rico over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday earned the team a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. But the elation quickly turned into despair when the star closer Edwin Díaz crumbled to the ground during a postgame celebration on the mound.
Díaz’s teammates formed a circle around him, hanging their heads or crying. Instead of heading to the clubhouse at loanDepot Park to pack up their bags, Dominican players lingered in the dugout, stunned at the scene on the field. And when Díaz, 28, finally stood up, he was first carried and then wheeled off the field, unable to put any weight on his right leg.