A recap of recent winter ball action for Pittsburgh Pirates players, as action begins to wind down in all the leagues. As of Feb 1st, all that remained were the finals of the Latin American Series, the finals in the Australian Baseball League and the entire Caribbean Series.
In the tiebreaker game in Panama, Colombia took on Nicaragua, with the winner going on to face the host country in the finals. Colombia won the game easily, beating them 10-0, with Andy Vasquez contributing an RBI triple and a run scored.
In Australia on Saturday, Sam Kennelly grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, then remained in the game at third base. His team won the best-of-three series with a 9-2 victory and will now play in the finals against Adelaide beginning on Friday. The best-of-three series will be televised live on MLB Network and repeated later. If you plan to watch to see Kennelly play(or just to see live baseball) the 7 PM start time there, is 3:30 AM the same day on the East Coast, so you may want to set up the DVR.
In the one game finals in Panama, Colombia won in the bottom of the ninth on grounder to second base with one out and runners on the corners. Panama was only able to get one out and the pitching duel ended with just seven hits in the game, all singles. Andy Vasquez went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt. Oderman Rocha was also a member of the winning team, though he did not make an appearance in the playoffs.
Monday’s Action
The Caribbean Series began on Monday and this year they have five teams in the series. Cuba joins Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican in the series, with two games each day for the first five days, then semi-finals on Saturday and the two winners face each other on Sunday for the title.
On Monday, Cuba lost to Mexico in game one and game two saw Venezuela defeat Puerto Rico. Gorkys Hernandez went 0-for-2, but he walked twice, scored twice and picked up an outfield assist in the 5-2 victory. Robert Andino went 0-for-3 on the losing side. He is still a minor league free agent.
On Tuesday, Cuba takes on the Dominican Republic during the day, while Puerto Rico plays Mexico at night. Rafael Perez will make the start for the Dominican. He has given up just three earned runs in six playoff starts, yet he is still a free agent.
