Saturday night was a slow night for Pittsburgh Pirates news in winter ball, except for Venezuela. Elias Diaz went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a throwing error in his second game of winter ball. Diaz made his debut on Friday night, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Elvis Escobar pinch-ran in the eighth inning and stayed in the game as the DH. He went 0-for-1 with a run scored. He made his debut on Wednesday as a defensive replacement in left field.
Deolis Guerra threw a scoreless inning for the second straight night. He struck out one and allowed one hit. After giving up three runs in his debut while recording just one out, Guerra has thrown four shutout innings, allowing one hit, with no walks and five strikeouts.
Julio Vivas got the last out in his team’s 8-1 loss. In eight appearances, the 21-year-old has thrown 6.1 shutout innings, allowing four hits and no walks, with four strikeouts.
Ramon Cabrera lined out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, then stayed on to catch the last two innings. He was dropped from the Pirates 40-man roster on Thursday.
In the Dominican, Carlos Paulino was the only one to see action. He came in as a defensive replacement in eighth inning and didn’t get a chance to bat. The opposing team collected two of their five stolen bases(in five attempts) against him.
There is word out of the Dominican that Gregory Polanco will make his winter debut on either Tuesday or Wednesday. He has taken batting practice with his Leones del Escogido team and has taken part in the Dominican Winter League version of the minor leagues, which is called the Parallel League.
In Mexico, Sebastian Valle was used as a pinch-runner during his team’s 2-1 loss in ten innings. The 24-year-old catcher signed with the Pirates on Thursday.
In Colombia, Tito Polo went 0-for-4 and he is now 5-for-30 on the season, with no walks and 12 strikeouts.
All the action in Puerto Rico was wiped out by rain.
Sunday’s Recap
In the Dominican on Sunday, Tony Sanchez made his fourth start behind the plate. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored. He is 1-for-4 in throwing out runners.
Pedro Florimon played his first game since being picked up by the Pirates on Thursday. He pinch-hit in the sixth inning for Pedro Ciriaco and went 1-for-2 at the plate, finishing the game at shortstop.
Willy Garcia played his first game since being added to the Pirates 40-man roster. He missed time with the flu. Garcia went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is now 8-for-44 in his last ten games, with no walks and 16 strikeouts.
In Venezuela, Matt Nevarez gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He recorded two outs, one by strikeout. Jhonathan Ramos pitched in that same game and also recorded two outs. He allowed one hit and didn’t walk or strikeout anyone. Ramos is still a free agent.
Ramon Cabrera walked as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, then remained in the game to catch the final inning.
In Mexico, Sebastian Valle had three hits and two walks in five plate appearances. He had a double, drove in two runs and scored three times. Prior to this game, he had a .175/.238/.281 slash line in 22 games.
Felipe Gonzalez threw two perfect innings, retiring all six batters he faced. He had three ground ball outs and one strikeout. In 19 innings, he has a 2.84 ERA.
Carlos Munoz went 0-for-2 before being pinch-hit for in the eighth inning. He is 1-for-16 on the season.
