Now that it’s officially winter here…. a few Pirates’ players and friends in the Caribbean Leagues
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
Toros del Este 4, Aguilas Cibaenas 2
SS Pedro Ciriaco singled twice for Los Toros, while his brother 3B Audy doubled for Los Aguilas. Pedro singled and stole second base in the 1st inning, but did not score. He was caught stealing after his single in the 7th inning. Los Toros scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning on three singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. Audy hit the first of two doubles and scored along with another base runner on the second double in the 4th to tie the score. Los Toros broke the tie with an unearned run on an error, a wild pitch, and an RBI single in the 5th, then added an insurance run on a triple and an error in the 6th.
Leones del Escogido 6, Estrellas de Oriente 2
After each team scored one run in the 2nd inning, Los Leones went on to add 2 runs in the 3rd and 3 runs in the 6th. A single, an error, and a wild pitch gave Los Estrellas one more run in the 9th inning. C Dusty Brown went 0-for-2 for Los Estrellas, and was replaced behind the plate in the 7th inning.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones del Caracas 8, Caribes de Anzoategui 7
After a big first inning for both teams, Los Leones kept scoring, but Los Caribes went quiet. CF Corey Wimberly opened the game with a double lined into right field, and after two walks, a grand slam gave Los Leones 4 runs before an out was recorded. Los Caribes answered with 5 runs in the bottom of the frame. A single, a walk by CF Gorkys Hernandez, and an RBI single brought in the first run. A walk followed by a ground out plated Hernandez. The third run scored on an RBI single, and a double added 2 more runs, giving Los Caribes a 5-4 lead. But Los Caribes got stuck there, despite putting runners on base in most of their at-bats. Caracas took the lead with 2 runs in the top of the 2nd, on a walk and two singles, including a single by Wimberly. A double and two singles gave Los Leones a run in the 5th. Two singles, two errors, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly gave them their final run in the 7th. Los Caribes rallied in the bottom of the 9th, when a pair of doubles began the inning, bringing the score to 8-6. A bunt by Hernandez moved the lead runner to third base, and he scored on an RBI ground out. Justin Thomas pitched to one batter for Caracas in the bottom of the 7th — a fly out. Former Pirate farmhand Ronald Uviedo pitched 2.2 innings for Caracas. Uviedo did not allow a hit, and the only runner to reach base against him did it on a throwing error. Uviedo struck out 5 of the 9 batters he faced.
Bravos de Margarita 9, Tiburones de La Guaira 11
Los Bravos sent 12 batters to the plate in the 4th inning, scoring 8 runs to take a 9-5 lead. But Los Tiburones, who had scored 4 runs in the 1st and one in the 2nd, rallied to score 6 runs over the last three innings to take the lead. In the bottom of the 6th, with the bases loaded with Tiburones and one out, Los Bravos brought on reliever Jhonathan Ramos to pitch to one batter. Ramos gave up a single into right field, which allowed 2 runs to score. Those runs brought the score to 9-7. One run in the 7th and 3 runs in the 8th finished the game for Los Tiburones.
Los Aguilas de Zulia pitcher Diego Moreno is out of the ‘pen for awhile due to a muscle strain in his forearm. He’s still with the team but not able to pitch.
