Lindor homers twice as Puerto Rico beats Mexico at WBC

Puerto Rico's Francisco Lindor, celebrates with his teammates after a home run. (Luis Gutierrez/AP)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Francisco Lindor hit two home runs, Jorge Lopez pitched 4 1/3 solid innings and Puerto Rico inched closer to the second round of the World Baseball Classic with a 9-4 win over Mexico on Saturday night.

Lindor hit a two-run shot in the first inning and added a solo homer in the seventh. The Cleveland shortstop had three hits and three RBIs.

Lopez allowed two hits and one run while striking out five.

Javier Baez hit a three-run homer in the ninth to secure the win for Puerto Rico, which lost in the WBC final four years ago. The Puerto Ricans lead Group D with a 2-0 record, while Italy and Venezuela are both 1-1 and Mexico is 0-2.

The Puerto Ricans can qualify for the next round with a win over Italy on Sunday. The top two teams from the group will advance.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez took the loss, allowing four hits and four runs in four innings.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.