Jorge L. Ortiz

USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI – Nelson Cruz has hit 16 postseason home runs, including six in a memorable power display that earned him MVP honors in the 2011 AL Championship Series. Three times he has gone deep in the World Series.

All those heroics took a back seat in both his mind and his countrymen’s hearts after Cruz’s latest blast, a laser shot that sent folks in the Dominican Republic streaming into the streets in delirious joy.

Cruz capped a stunning comeback from a five-run deficit when he launched a three-run homer just inside the foul pole off Andrew Miller as the Dominicans earned a berth in the second round of the World Baseball Classic with a dramatic 7-5 victory over the United States on Saturday.

“I think this is the top one,’’ Cruz said in ranking his home runs. “You play for a lot of teams, you move to different teams and you lose the fans. You play for your country, it doesn’t matter where you go, they’re going to follow you, they’re going to love you. So we play for the country we love and this win is for them.’’

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The defending champions appeared to have finally met their match after nine consecutive WBC victories, falling behind 5-0 to the powerful U.S. squad in front of a Marlins Park-record crowd of 37,446 – the large majority pro-Dominican.

Even after the Dominicans cut the deficit to two runs and put runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth, the odds of a victory seemed remote as they faced the formidable Miller, the bane of so many hitters during last year’s postseason.

Once he fell behind 0-2 in the count, Cruz switched into battle mode and said he was merely looking to make contact. Then Miller, owner of a wipeout slider, threw one he intended to go low and outside but instead drifted over the middle. There was little doubt Cruz’s drive would leave the yard. When it folded inside the pole, giving the DR a 6-5 lead, the ballpark erupted as if an explosion had been set off.

Cruz pounded his chest and punched the air as he rounded the bases, puffing out the “Dominicana’’ on his jersey, and he was mobbed at home by ecstatic teammates. Two batters later, Starling Marte took Miller deep to right field for an insurance run.

“Only in a movie or a dream could you describe what happened today,’’ Cruz said. “Whoever didn’t feel the emotions from that game must be dead. I know a lot of people traveled from the Dominican Republic and other parts of the United States to see this game, and I’m grateful to God for the opportunity to make their trip worthwhile.’’

The highly anticipated game more than lived up to expectations, with the beefed-up U.S. squad – looking for better results after going 10-10 and reaching the semifinals just once in the previous three editions of the tournament – jumping to an early lead.

A defensive misplay by Cruz in right field and by center fielder Starling Marte on a ball in the gap opened the door for the game’s first two runs in the third, and Team USA built on that lead with RBI hits by Brandon Crawford.

By the bottom of the sixth, the Dominicans trailed 5-0 and had seen eight of their last nine batters go down meekly. That’s when Manny Machado, who opted to represent his parents’ native country instead of his and was playing in his hometown, belted a titanic home run to left that brought the crowd and his teammates to life.

Suddenly, the famously raucous Dominican fans were a factor again.

“The other team was playing one heck of a game, so I was trying to do something for the team, to get it started,’’ Machado said. “I know that we are a better team, but we started bad. But our fans gave us their support and we kept going ahead nonstop after that.’’

Now 1-1, the U.S. is tied with Colombia for second place in Pool C, behind the Dominican Republic (2-0) but ahead of Canada (0-2).

The Dominicans will be playing for second-round seeding Sunday early afternoon when they face Colombia, an upstart that forced the U.S. to 10 innings before losing Friday, then defeated Canada 4-1 Saturday.

Regardless of what happens in the early game, the U.S. would advance if it beats Canada (0-2) at night because it owns the tiebreaker over Colombia. However, an upset win by Colombia and a U.S. loss would end the Americans’ stay in the tournament.

Miller, who is participating in his first WBC after helping the Cleveland Indians reach the World Series last October, regretted the pitch to Cruz but not his decision to pitch in the tournament. He relished the chance to face a loaded lineup like the one the DR sends out and to pitch in this cauldron.

“The atmosphere is incredible,’’ Miller said. “As a player, it’s a blast to play in these kinds of circumstances. It’s like being a Yankee and going into Fenway, or vice-versa. Those are the fun experiences that you want to thrive in, take part in. Outside of what I did, the fans were incredible. I would have liked to have done my job and made them quiet.’’

Instead, Cruz’s homer turned up the volume to an unfathomable level, even by Dominican standards.

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