Coming into Thursday night, Stolmy Pimentel had made four starts and failed to go longer than two innings in three of those games. He had a .364 BAA in those four starts, with seven walks and just four strikeouts. Except for the strikeouts, he really turned things around in his fifth start. Pimentel allowed one run on three hits and a walk in five innings. He had nine ground ball outs as well, though he picked up just one strikeout.
In that same game, Gustavo Nunez grounded into a double play in the seventh inning, then remained in the game on defense at shortstop. He signed as a minor league free agent with the Pirates earlier this week.
Wirfin Obispo allowed one run on one hit in one inning. He has a 2.19 ERA in 12.1 innings, with 16 strikeouts. He is still a minor league free agent.
Gregory Polanco took batting practice with his Leones del Escogido team. There isn’t a set date for his return, though he could be in uniform within a couple days according to a couple sources.
Willy Garcia is out with the flu. He hasn’t played the last couple games, though he could have used the time off because he has been in a big slump the last two weeks. Garcia is 8-for-40 in his last nine games, with no walks and 13 strikeouts. He was added to the Pirates 40-man roster on Thursday.
The Pirates picked up Pedro Florimon off waivers on Thursday. He is playing for Leones del Escogido, where he has a .213/.250/.279 slash line in 18 games.
In Colombia, Tito Polo went 1-for-6 in his last two games, striking out four times. He is 5-for-26 with no walks and 11 strikeouts. The level of play in Colombia isn’t as good as the four Caribbean Leagues, but it’s still better than what Polo saw this season in the Gulf Coast League.
