Not a lot of winter league action on Thursday; both the Dominican and Puerto Rican Leagues had no games scheduled.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones del Caracas 6, Tigres de Aragua 1
Five runs in the 7th inning gave the game to Los Leones. After a single, a throwing error, and a double drove in two runs, Los Tigres brought in former Pirate reliever Wil Ledezma. Ledezma got Corey Wimberly to pop out, followed by a second pop out, and an intentional walk. That strategy backfired when the next batter blasted a 3-run homer. Wimberly also singled in Los Leones’ rally in the 3rd inning. SS Ronny Cedeno had an RBI grounder for Los Tigres to drive in their only run in the 8th. He also singled in the 1st inning.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
Adelaide Bite 11, Sydney Blue Sox 3
Pirates’ farmhands Rinku Singh and Ryan Beckman made their season debuts with the Bite (they had both been on the “reserved” list), both pitching in relief. Singh took over for starter Darren Fidge in the 7th inning, and ended that inning with a ground out. He went on to pitch the 8th inning — he hit a batter, but got a ground out and two strikeouts. Beckman came on for the 9th inning, and walked a batter, but then got a grounder force out and a double play to end the game. The Bite missed out on scoring opportunities in the first two innings, then were quiet over the middle innings. Meanwhile, the Blue Sox scored one run in each of the 2nd, 4th, and 5th innings. The Bite turned things around in the bottom of the 6th. An error, a walk to 1B Calvin Anderson, and a hit batter loaded the bases for the Bite. One run scored on an RBI ground out, then Anderson scored on a single into left field. A 3-run homer cleared the bases and gave the Bite a 5-3 lead. Adelaide added even more insurance with 6 runs in the 7th inning. A double, a walk, and a single loaded the bases, then when Anderson grounded to third, a throwing error let two runs score. Three consecutive walks drove in two more runs, including Anderson. Another RBI grounder brought in two more runs.
