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Winter Leagues: Polanco Reaches Base Three Times, Drives In Two Runs

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In the Dominican on Friday night, Gregory Polanco went 2-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and two RBIs. Polanco is batting .333 in 26 games, with 20 walks and 24 RBIs. He has reached base via hit or walk in all but one game this season. Polanco has a .979 OPS, second best in the DWL.

Gregory Polanco
Gregory Polanco reached base three times Friday

Mel Rojas Jr. struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning.  It was just his third appearances this season and his first game in three weeks.

Oscar Tejeda had an 0-for-4 night in the designated hitter role during his team’s 3-2 win. He is hitting .265 in 15 games.

From Colombia on Friday, Harold Ramirez went 4-for-5, with a triple, three runs scored and three RBIs. For reference, the starting pitcher facing Ramirez was Osvaldo Rodriguez, a 29-year-old, who has pitched pro ball in the minors and Independent ball since 2003. Ramirez is hitting .361 through ten games and leading the league with five stolen bases.

In Venezuela, Andrew Lambo went 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout.He has got off to a slow start in his first four games, going 1-for-12 with six strikeouts. Lambo was back in right field, one day after getting a start at first base.

Jhondaniel Medina faced four batters, giving up a hit, two walks and he picked up a strikeout. Medina got just one out, but didn’t allow any runs. In seven appearances, he has given up two runs on five hits and six walks in 5.1 innings. Prior to Friday, he had not pitched since November 2nd.

Jhonathan Ramos had an impressive one inning outing for two reasons. The first is that he retired the side in order on three straight ground balls. The second reason was that he was facing a team that had already scored 15 runs in the game. Ramos has pitched 12 times this Winter without allowing a walk.

From Thursday night, Junior Sosa played his second game of the Winter season, going 0-for-2 after coming into the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. Sosa last played on October 13th.

In Puerto Rico, Jerry Sands played in a doubleheader on Friday. In game one, he went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. In the second game, Sands had an 0-for-1 game, drawing a walk and scoring a run in his second plate appearance. The run he scored was the only run of the game and due to the seven inning rule for doubleheaders(plus his team was at home), Sands came to the plate just two times in the second game.

In Australia, Sam Kennelly had a rough day at the plate, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The young shortstop was back at first base for a second straight game. His team still won 4-2 behind the starting pitching of Anthony Claggett, who pitched for the 2009 Pirates.

In Mexico, Ali Solis went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI in his team’s 15-5 win. The double came off former Pirates farmhard, Oscar Verdugo. Solis also laid down a sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning. In the ninth inning, Solis switched from catcher to third base on defense.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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