For a season preview of the Pittsburgh Pirates two Dominican Summer League teams, check out our article here. Throughout the year, we will provide the recaps of both teams, as well as highlight one player each day. 
PIRATES1
Result: Pirates 3, Marlins 2 in 13 innings
Starting Pitcher: Dan Urbina, RHP (2.19) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Tito Polo, LF (.329) – 2-for-5, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Julio de la Cruz, 3B (.175) – 1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Pablo Reyes, SS (.294) – 2-for-6, SB
Christian Henriquez, LHP (1.42) – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Johan De Jesus, SS (.173) – 0-for-4
Game Notes: The Pirates beat the Marlins in 13 innings, as reliever Adderly Ceballo picked up his first win since the 2010 season. Starter Dan Urbina threw five shutout innings, but the game was scoreless when he left. The Pirates didn’t put up a run until the ninth inning, scoring twice to take the lead, only to see the Marlins come back and tie it in the bottom of the inning. The Pirates scored their 13th inning run on back-to-back singles from Ramses Pena and Tito Polo, with the left fielder misplaying Polo’s single, which allowed Pena to score from first base. Yunelky Adames and Pablo Reyes each stole their eighth base of the season. Julio de la Cruz has just ten hits on the season, but he has driven in 11 runs. The Pirates reached the .500 mark(11-11) with the two-game sweep over the Marlins.
PIRATES2
Result: Pirates 9, Tigers 6
Starting Pitcher: Dario Agrazal Jr, RHP (3-0, 1.88) – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Jhoan Herrera, 3B (.256) – 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Michael de la Cruz, CF (.282) – 1-for-4, 2B, BB
Carlos Munoz, 1B (.414) – 1-for-4, BB, RBI
Horelbin Ramos, LHP (0.71) – 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Yoel Gonzalez, C (.119) – 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Game Notes: The Pirates moved to 11-10 on the season, as Dario Agrazal Jr won his third straight decision to open up his pro career. Top pitching prospect Richard Mitchell followed Agrazal and had some control issues, allowing three runs and three walks in 1.1 innings. Horelbin Ramos finished out the game with 2.2 scoreless innings for his first career save. Steven De La Mota had a hit and two RBI’s, giving him a .389 average and 11 RBI’s over his last nine games. Edgar Figueroa had three hits and he is now batting .395 over his last ten games, after opening the season by going 4-for-34 in the first nine games. Yoel Gonzalez had the first multi-RBI game of his career. Michael de la Cruz reached base twice, giving him 20 hits and 22 walks in 20 games. He also scored two runs, which gives him 17 runs scored on the season, tied with Carlos Munoz and Tito Polo for most among Pirates players in the DSL.
Player Of The Day
Back in March of last year, the Pirates signed shortstop Fredis Padilla out of Colombia. He was said to have a strong bat already, with room to fill out and add power. Last season he started off real slow in the DSL, before finishing strong, hitting .321 in the month of July. The switch-hitting Padilla ended up spending most of his time at second base last year, seeing a few games at shortstop and third base. He played a total of 39 games, hitting .253/.343/.345 in 100 plate appearances.
This year he is seeing limited time, but doing well when he plays, at least on the road. Padilla has a .662 OPS in home games, versus a 1.149 on the road. He has spent almost all of his time at second base, adding a new position for two games so far, left field. Padilla is still just 19-years-old and showing some potential in his limited time, so he may possibly see more action as the season goes on.
