Alex Verdugo and Team Mexico erased an early 4-0 deficit to defeat Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic on Friday night, and the Boston Red Sox outfielder was fired up after the huge win.

“I don't even know how to put it into words, man,” Verdugo told MLB Network's Jon Morosi after the game. “Going down 4-0 and coming back, scratching back, our pitchers keeping us in the game, our offense with timely hitting, key walks, that's baseball, I've been saying it this whole time. That's why I love this game!”

When asked about what wearing the Team Mexico jersey meant to him at the World Baseball Classic, Verdugo kept it simple.

“It means everything,” he said. “To come out here, to represent Mexico, the great fans, my dad's side of the family from being from Mexico, I'm just honored and ain't nothing better than putting this on right here.”

It was an electric battle between Mexico and Puerto Rico, but it's the former who advanced to the semifinals against Japan with the 5-4 win. Down 4-2 in the seventh inning, Isaac Paredes hit a game-tying, two-run single to left field off Jorge Lopez, and Luis Urias followed it up with a go-ahead single to right to erase Puerto Rico's lead.

“We thought that it would be a great game,” Mexico manager Benji Gil said after the game, according to MLB.com. “I wanted everyone in baseball to enjoy that game, and I think it was like that.”

Alex Verdugo and his Mexico teammates will workout on Saturday afternoon ahead of the semis against Japan on Monday night. It's a battle of the Pool B and Pool C champions; Japan enters Miami with a perfect 4-0 record in the tournament.

Team USA will play Venezuela in the final World Baseball Classic quarterfinal on Saturday night, with a semifinal berth against Cuba on the line.