BRADENTON, Fla. — While bolting back toward the warning track Saturday night chasing the baseball Andrew McCutchen had just banged between him and center fielder Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco seethed. McCutchen’s late two-run double provided insurance in Team USA’s 6-3 quarterfinals win that eliminated the Dominican Republic from the World Baseball Classic.

After the game, Polanco watched highlights on TV. The anguish of elimination had started to fade by the time he saw the replay of McCutchen’s swing.

“After that, I was so happy for him,” Polanco said.

Polanco said he feels “very comfortable” at the plate right now, and there’s little question it’s true. He was 11 for 19 (.619) with two doubles and a home run in five games for the Dominican. On Sunday, general manager Neal Huntington remarked, “It looks like he’s ready.”

Polanco, 25, took advantage of the veteran-packed Dominican roster, getting pointers in the batting cages from Robinson Cano and Jose Bautista. They noticed Polanco had trouble handling the inside fastball. Cano and Bautista placed a pitched screen along the heart of home plate and fed Polanco soft toss inside. Don’t hit the net, they said. Shorten your swing, but don’t pull the ball.

“They are good for something,” Polanco said, laughing. “It worked, for sure.”

Marte played in three of his team’s six tournament games and hit 3 for 12 with a double and a home run. The Dominican athletic trainers communicated with the Pirates, Huntington said, and Marte is not expected to miss time. Marte said he is ready to play full games.

The bright spot of Marte’s tournament was when the United States and Dominican met in pool play March 11. A berserk, sellout crowd at Marlins Park witnessed the Dominican rally from five runs down to win, 7-5. Marte was 3 for 4 with a double and a line-drive homer off Andrew Miller.