There is a good way to make a homecoming, and then, there is the way Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor returned to his homeland of Puerto Rico on Tuesday night.
Playing in front of friends and family at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Lindor belted a 3-2 pitch from Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi over the wall in right field for a two-run home run, which gave the Cleveland Indians a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning of Game 1 of the Puerto Rico Series.
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WHO ARE WE KIDDING? WE'RE ALL CRYING! 😭#RallyTogether | #PuertoRicoSeries pic.twitter.com/4XK2zOZrav
Following the home run, fans called for Lindor to do a curtain call, and the native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, obliged.
Lindor, who represented Puerto Rico as a starting infielder in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, embraced the opportunity to play in front of his friends and family when the Indians and Twins announced they would hold a two-game series in Puerto Rico, and was relieved to hear Major League Baseball maintain their commitment despite Hurricane Maria ravaging the country last fall.
“I’m super-excited,” Lindor told reporters prior to TribeFest 2018 back in January. “I can’t wait to play in front of my home crowd. It’s going to be a dream to play in Puerto Rico. I haven’t played in Puerto Rico in a long, long time.
“Playing in front of my family, friends and people that don’t have the chance to travel and see us play out here, it’s going to be something special, especially with what Puerto Rico’s been through the last couple months. It’s going to be something special.”
And special it was, as the home run was Lindor’s second of the young season, and sparked a barrage of long balls, as the Indians belted a pair of solo homers in the top of the sixth inning and staked themselves out to a 4-0 lead over the Twins.
First, infielder Jose Ramirez smashed a 3-2 pitch out of the ballpark in almost the exact same spot Lindor belted his round-tripper. Then, outfielder Michael Brantley went back-to-back on the next offering from Odorizzi over the wall in right field for his first home run of the season.
