Like many teams in the World Baseball Classic, Panama had a strong New York Mets presence on their roster with minor leaguers Jonathan Araúz and Humberto Mejia. They would play key roles in Panama’s first-ever World Baseball Classic victory.

Mejia, 26, was signed by the Mets recently as a minor league free agent. He would get the start for Panama against host country Chinese Tapei. He would come up big when needed most.

https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1633432905660727299?s=20

He would get in trouble in the first innings loading the bases with two outs after issuing two walks. Even with the raucous host country, he was able to settle down and get Po-Jung Wang to ground out ending the inning.

Mejia would pitch a scoreless second. On the day, he would pitch two scoreless innings allowing two walks and three hits. He would not factor into the decision as he would be lifted for Randall Delgado to start the third.

Panama’s offense would not get going until the fourth inning. The five-run rally started when former Met Ruben Tejada hit a lead-off double, and he would score the first run of the game and Panama’s first run in 30 WBC innings. That rally and some impressive defense, including an unbelievable catch from Luis Castillo in the fifth inning, put Panama in control of the game.

https://twitter.com/WBCBaseball/status/1633459544843059200?s=20

Araúz would help Panama put the game out of reach in the sixth. He came up with runners on second and third, and he hit a two-RBI single putting Panama up 8-1.

Jonathan Araúz extends Panamas's lead with a 2-run base knock in the 6th. #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/x5acbpxIf2

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 8, 2023

Araúz had an impressive game going 2-for-6 with a run, double, and three RBIs. His three RBIs led all players in the game, and it helped power Panama to their first WBC win.

Panama would win the game 12-5. While the game obviously featured Panama getting a number of big hits driving in runs, their team defense was really the story. There were a number of highlight-worthy defensive plays including Castillo’s catch and an excellent play Tejada made at short:

https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1633437206869159936?s=20

Panama is now 1-0 in pool play for Pool A. Their next game will be on March 8 at 11:00 p.m. ET vs the 1-0 Kingdom of the Netherlands. The game can be watched on Fox Sports and Tubi.