In the Dominican from Saturday night, Gregory Polanco broke out of a recent mini-slump, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. In his four previous games, he went 1-for-16, temporarily dropping his average below the .300 mark. Polanco is now hitting .311 in 32 games, with 24 RBIs and 21 runs scored. He also picked up an outfield assist.
Oscar Tejeda hit his second homer of the season for the Gigantes del Cibao. He didn’t start the game, coming in as a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning. Tejeda homered in that at-bat, then the next batter followed him with a homer. He stayed in the game at third base and finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Atahualpa Severino pitched the sixth inning against Tejeda’s team and retired the side in order. Over his last 11 appearances, he has pitched nine shutout innings, allowing just two hits. Both Severino and Tejeda are still free agents.
Another free agent that spent time in the Pirates organization in 2013 will be joining the Dominican Winter League. Graham Godfrey will join Leones de Escogido soon and he will be pitching in front of the outfield of Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte, who is practicing with the team and hopes to be activated by December 10th. Godfrey went 7-5, 3.99 in 11 starts and eight relief appearances for Indianapolis this season.
In Venezuela, Andrew Lambo was back in the lineup after sitting out a day. He went 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a walk. Lambo is 4-for-32 with two doubles, a triple and seven RBIs.
Junior Sosa went 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored before being pinch-hit for in the tenth inning. It was the fifth start this week for Sosa, who played just two games during the first six weeks of the season.
In Puerto Rico, Jerry Sands went 2-for-7 with two singles in his team’s 5-4 win in 15 innings. Sands picked up two outfield assists, throwing out two runners at home. A week ago, Sands picked up three assists in one game.
In Australia, the only two Pirates players in the league were both playing first base in the same game. Danny Arribas went 1-for-4 with his third stolen base. He is 7-for-44 in 12 games. Sam Kennelly went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Kennelly has now batted more times this ABL season than he did last year. He is 6-for-35 on the season.
From Friday in Colombia, Yhonathan Barrios had another rough outing. He recorded one out, but not before giving up a run on a hit and two walks. Barrios pitched well in the GCL this year after moving from the infield to the mound, but in 3 2/3 innings in five appearances in the Colombian League, he has given up five runs on eight hits and five walks, plus a hit batter.
From Saturday’s games in Colombia, Harold Ramirez was the only Pirates player in action. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. His team won again and now has a 14-2 record. Ramirez is hitting .353/.460/.412 in 51 at-bats.
