In Colombia on Thursday, the regular season wrapped up for 16-year-old shortstop Francisco Acuna and center fielder Sandy Santos. Acuna went 0-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt in the last game. He finished his season with a .233/.327/.326 slash line in 15 games. The team put up a .655 OPS, so he was just two points below average, despite being 10+ years younger than many of the players in the league. Acuna held his own defensively with four errors in 64 chances, including eight double plays turned.
Santos finished the season with a 1-for-4 night. The 22-year-old, who spent the 2016 season at Morgantown, hit .200/.256/.275 in 14 games. He had one homer, one stolen base, and fielded all 27 chances cleanly in center field, picking up one assist.
In the Dominican on Friday night, Jason Rogers went 2-for-4 with two singles, a walk, and a run scored. We found out on Friday night that Rogers cleared waivers and the Pirates sent him outright to Indianapolis. He is batting .346 in the playoffs and has drawn six walks in seven games.
Eury Perez went 4-for-5 with four singles and a run scored. He is batting .412 in the playoffs. I mentioned earlier this week that Perez could see a bigger role with the Pirates if Willy Garcia was lost on waivers, and it was announced on Friday afternoon that the Chicago White Sox claimed him. That opens up an outfield spot in Indianapolis for Perez, who should be a nice short-term depth option for the Pirates early in the season.
In Venezuela, Jose Osuna went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo homer. It’s his first home run of the playoffs, after hitting three during the winter season. He had four hits and drove in three runs on Thursday. Osuna is batting .500 through four playoff games.
Elvis Escobar pinch-ran in the eighth inning and scored a run, then stayed in the game in left field. He lined out to center field in the ninth in his only at-bat. It was also his first plate appearance in three playoff games.
In Mexico, Carlos Munoz went 0-for-3 with a walk, as his team came back from a late 6-2 deficit for a 7-6 victory. Munoz went 1-for-4 in each of his first three playoff games.
In Australia on Friday, Sam Street made his second appearance of the season and faced five batters. He recorded two outs, one by strikeout, while allowing one hit and two walks. Street threw 28 pitches, with 15 going for strikes. One run scored on an error, while the single was turned into a caught stealing.
If you’ve never seen Street and his sidearm style, you can check out his inning here. He pitches the top of the seventh, so skip to the 1:55:00 mark.
