In Colombia on Wednesday night, Tito Polo had a huge hand in his team’s 8-7 victory. In the first inning, he walked and scored a run. In the second, Polo hit an RBI single. In the bottom of the eighth, he drove home two runs with a double. He finished off his big game with an outstanding catch in center field in the ninth inning, which got him a standing ovation from the home crowd. Polo started the winter season off by going 5-for-30, with no walks and 12 strikeouts. Those numbers shouldn’t be too concerning because it is a small sample size and the league is more advanced than what he saw this year in the Gulf Coast League.
On Thursday night in Venezuela, Elias Diaz went 1-for-3 with a double and HBP in his third game. After being hit, he was picked off first base. Diaz is 2-for-11 so far.
Junior Sosa went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He is hitting .295 through 44 at-bats.
Elvis Escobar played his third game for Cardenales de Lara. He came in as a pinch-runner in the seventh inning. He remained in the game as a DH and singled in the ninth inning. He then stole second base off Elias Diaz.
Matt Nevarez started the seventh inning and walked the first two batters. He then made a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, loading the bases with no outs. Nevarez was pulled, but got some help from the next reliever, who stranded all three runners.
Deolis Guerra pitched a scoreless inning, retiring the side in order. He has pitched eight times this year and thrown a scoreless inning in each of the last seven outings. Guerra gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in his first game, while recording just one out. Since then, he has allowed just two hits and a walk in seven innings.
Pitcher Nate Baker has joined the Dominican Winter League. He will play for Aguilas Cibeanos. Baker pitched for Altoona this season, where he had a 1.71 ERA and a .233 BAA in 17 relief appearances. He missed nearly three months with a left teres major injury, an upper back muscle that extends to the arm area. The 26-year-old lefty was taken in the fifth round of the 2009 draft and has spent the last three seasons at Altoona.
