In the Dominican League on Sunday, Gregory Polanco had an unusually quiet game, going 0-for-4 in his team’s 5-2 win. It was just the second time in 28 games that Polanco failed to reach base. He has helped his team to a 19-11 record, best in the league.
In Venezuela, Andrew Lambo went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and an RBI on a first inning sacrifice fly. His first week in Venezuela was a tough one as he tries to shake off the rust of not playing much while with the Pirates. During the regular season, his last start was on August 27th. Lambo went 2-for-20 in six games, striking out 11 times, though he did pick up five RBIs.
Junior Sosa played both games of a doubleheader for his Bravos de Margarita team. He had played just two games this Winter prior to Sunday. In the first game, he went 1-for-3 with a double and run scored. In game two, Sosa came in as a pinch-runner and scored a run. He stayed in the game and played right field for the last two innings. Sosa struck out in his only at-bat.
Jhonathan Ramos pitched a perfect inning of relief for the Bravos, retiring all three batters on ground balls. In his last outing two days ago, Ramos pulled off the same feat, getting ground balls from all three batters he faced.
In Puerto Rico, Jerry Sands went 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout in his team’s 4-2 loss. He had quite the night on defense, picking up three outfield assists at three different bases. During the regular season, he had 12 assists in 87 games. Sands is hitting .273 in 17 games, with an .860 OPS.
On the other side of that 4-2 game, Ivan De Jesus Jr. went 1-for-3 with a walk and run scored. He was the batter during two of Jerry Sands’ assists. In the third inning, with a man on first, De Jesus Jr. flew out to Sands, who doubled the runner off first base. Two innings later, he singled to Sands with a man on second. The runner tried to score on the play, but was cut down by Sands. The other assist came in the eighth inning when the lead-off hitter got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.
In Mexico, Jay Jackson repeated his performance from Saturday, retiring all four batters he faced to pick up a save. It was the ninth save for Jackson, who has now thrown 19 scoreless innings this Winter.
