For a season preview of the Pittsburgh Pirates two Dominican Summer League teams, check out our article here. For a recap of the DSL All-Star game, 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 2, Rangers 0
Starting Pitcher: Ramon Rodriguez, RHP (1.80) – 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Yomifer Polanco, RF (.264) – 1-for-4, SB
Other Notable Performers:
Julio de la Cruz, 3B (.212) – DNP
Marcus Beltrez, LHP (3-1, 1.65) – 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Johan De Jesus, SS (.143) – 1-for-3
Game Notes: The Pirates1 snapped a three game losing streak, shutting out the first place Rangers today. Ramon Rodriguez has been great recently, but this outing definitely had something out of the ordinary. Rodriguez walked five batters, topping his walk total from the rest of the season. He has not allowed an earned run in any of his last four starts and only once in nine starts has he allowed more than one earned run in a game. Marcus Beltrez picked up the win with 3.2 scoreless innings. He has pitched 12 times this year and only once given up more than one earned run in a game. Jonathan Minier pitched the ninth and got his fourth save. The Pirates scraped together two runs in this game. They had four hits, all singles and no batter reached base more than once.
PIRATES2
Result: Nationals 2, Pirates 1 in 10 innings
Starting Pitcher: Omar Basulto, LHP (2.18) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Steven De La Mota, DH (.263) – 2-for-4, HBP
Other Notable Performers:
Carlos Munoz, 1B (.364) – 0-for-3
Michael de la Cruz, CF (.336) – DNP
Richard Mitchell, RHP (3.91) – 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: The Pirates2 broke a six game winning streak, losing in extra innings to the Nationals. They got great pitching, but the offense was held to just four hits over ten innings. The lineup was missing all of the high-priced rookies, Michael de la Cruz, Jhoan Herrera and Yoel Gonzalez all had the day off. Starter Omar Basulto allowed one run over five innings of work. Coming into the game, he had thrown three straight games in which he didn’t allow an earned run over five innings. Richard Mitchell followed Basulto and threw three no-hit innings. Christopher De Leon got the loss, allowing a two-out run to score in the bottom of the tenth.
Player Of The Day
Today’s player of the day is Delvin Hiciano, who was just suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for a positive test of a banned substance. Hiciano was the player of the day back in late June, following his pro debut. I had mentioned that he was likely a roster filler due to his age. Hiciano made his pro debut at age twenty-one, making him the oldest pitcher on the roster. He has been used just five times so far and he won’t be back playing until next season, if he even comes back. With this setback, his limited use prior and his advanced age, the failed drug test could spell the end of his career. Hiciano gave up one earned run over 8.1 innings, but he also walked seven batters in that short span. His last outing was actually his best. One week ago, he threw two no-hit innings and struck out two batters. In his first four games combined, he had just one strikeout.
