Puerto Rico cruises to opening WBC victory over Nicaragua

MIAMI (AP) -- Francisco Lindor scored twice and hit an RBI single as Puerto Rico defeated Nicaragua 9-1 in its 2023 WBC debut.

Lindor singled and scored in the first inning.

Elian Miranda hit a homer off starter Marcus Stroman in the fifth to tie it at 1. Puerto Rico retook the lead in the bottom half with a five-run inning against JC Ramirez.

Lindor and Javier Baez both drove in runs in the fifth, Enrique Hernandez scored and MJ Melendez hit a two-run single to give Puerto Rico a 6-1 lead.

Puerto Rico added to its lead with a three-run seventh when Emmanuel Rivera scored on a fielding error and Christian Vazquez added a two-run single.

Vazquez had two hits, a pair of RBIs and scored once. Nicholas Padilla got the win for Puerto Rico.